Rorex, The Mortal God of War
by Unbiased Abyss
Summary: Blah
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto; I do own my characters though.

**Important: **I'm sorry for putting this under as a naruto fic, but I do have a reason. You see, it is very hard to get people to read fic's to begin with, but it is even harder when your fic is located in an area that no one looks under for fic's to read. So, for the sake of trying to get a few more readers I've put this down in the Naruto area. I have put down that it is OC centric on the summary, so please don't review about me doing puting this on a Naruto search. Again, I only did it to get people to see this fic. But I do have a case to present to you. You read these fic's because you enjoy them and you might enjoy: serious naruto, strong naruto, ect. fic's but what does it matter about the name? Tell you what, give this Fic a couple chapters and if you don't like it then tell me but I can only ask that you keep an open mind and truly ask yourself, What's the difference?

I mean If I designed an OC to look like Naruto, talk like Naruto, and act like Naruto, does that make him Naruto? In my opinion, all Fan-fics are OC based, but some of them are just designed to look like a character that you know and love. The whole reason for a Fan-fic is because you wanted to make you own story, with your own character in it. So that character takes the place of Naruto, no big deal, but is having an OC as the main character that big of a difference? I don't think so. I'm saying this because I got a review from someone that was clearly angered that I put this on the Naruto labeled area, but after reading his statement it was clear to me that he didn't keep an open mind and just wanter to troll. If you don't like it that I've put this fic on the Naruto area then PM me so we can discus why you're so mad. I never used to like OC centric fics but after writing one I have a new respect for them, so please don't just bash me or troll because this is OC centric and in the Naruto labeled area. I meant what I said about keeping an open mind, the beginning might be a little choppy but you never know, you might like it.

* * *

**IF YOU WANT TO SUBMIT AN OC FILL THIS OUT AND FOLLOW THESE RULES:**

Name:  
Place of Birth:(optional)  
Age:  
Occupation: (hunter, ANBU, jonin, chunin, genin, tokubetsu jonin, medic nin, ect)  
Housing:  
Marital status:  
Hair Color: (looks can be covered in a link to a pic)  
Eye Color:  
Height: (do provide this even if you have a pic)  
Weight: (ditto)  
Race(ie: nationality):  
Body Build:  
Distinguishing Features: (i.e. scar on face, ect.)  
Family/Clan:  
Affinity:  
Loyalties:(ie. Konoha, Suna, Etc.)  
Appearance: (You can link me a pic if you have one)  
Fault(s): (this must have something SIGNIFICANT)  
Emotional/Mental status:  
Bio: (life story of sorts, the more detail, the less I guess)

1. No god characters(self explanatory)

2. No Mary sue or male equivalent(i.e. your character(s) has to have some faults)

3. I hold the right to kill and or drop any characters I please, sorry about this one

4. I also hold the right to not use your character, don't be to worried about this one, chances are I'll take everyone

5. For the love of god do not make your character a container(read the first chapter to understand why)

6. I will only be accepting human characters( i.e. no demons, angels, vamps, ect.)

7. Try to keep to one character only(unless they are a team), I will assume that these characters aren't part of a team unless told other-whys(only if it doesn't mess with the story)

8. I hold the right to tweak characters to fit into the story (this one is kinda to you benifit, I'll work with you so that you're happy with the results)

9. If a character's name means something important(i.e. it is in Japanese) tell me, I will not look up the meaning, sorry

* * *

Summary: Vain is the last of a hated clan that betrayed Konoha in the past. Hated by the village, he bacame a Hunter-Nin at an early age. Years later he is asked by the Hokage to take on a Genin team to which he hesitantly accepts. How will Vain handle having a team, dealing with missions from the Hokage, and later the Akatsuki?  
(I'll be going over all of the chapters for errors soon)

* * *

If any of you cares, I'm rather new to writing fan fictions, in fact this is my first one. So, please forgive the crapyness of it, but do tell me if there are things I need to do better, and please don't just tell me that this and this sucks, but tell me how it could be better. You're the reader so constructive criticism is to your advantage.

I need to say this, I'm not a rabid Naruto fan. I've watched some of the anime and have read some of the manga, so I'm by no means a Naruto expert, so do forgive me if some characters are OOC. I should have said this before to but hey, **THE UCHIHA ARE NOT WIPED OUT, YOUR CHARACTER CAN BE AN UCHIHA OR HYUGA. **There, now that that's out of my system, enjoy.

**"Type Style: Bolden!"** - Jutsu

**"Hi ya."** - Summon

_"Super Author Punch of Doom!"_ - Specific Taijutsu Tech. or Thinking

* * *

Two men stood across from one another in a large grassy clearing. The forest circled them but no sound came, as if all of nature had stopped for this one moment. One combatant, his spiky yellow hair with two bangs that framed his face, wore blue shinobi pants with his kuni pouch on his right leg, black sandals, a green jonin vest with a blue shinobi shirt underneath which showed off his lean muscles, his head band was placed on his forehead marking him as a shinobi of Konoha. This was the Yondaime Hokage, Minato Namikaze.

Minato stared down his opponent and took in ever detail. His hair was brown and short the bangs just reaching to his eye brows, his face was covered in a black cloth mask like Kakashi's leaving his piercing brown eyes to stare him down. He had a black shinobi shirt on but the sleeves were cut off at the shoulders, making it look like a wife beater, bandages covered his arms from the shoulders to the middle of his forearms, a specialized pouch tapped to the small of his back, black shinobi pants flowed down to his black combat boots, at his belt he had three daggers two on his left and one on his right. The musculature of the man was nothing to laugh at as Minato saw the muscles ripple as the man tensed, not bulky, nor lanky, but more of a perfect mix just right for a shinobi.

Waiting for a few more seconds Minato finally push to attack first and charged at his opponent. When he got close enough, Minato used his momentum to add to the speed of his punch and swung for the mans head. The man ducked and threw a spin kick to Minato's stomach, causing Minato to flip over the man. As he landed, Minato leaped up and spun kick only to be blacked by the mans raised arms. Minato didn't have time to dodge as the man slide his arms up his body and forced Minato down into the ground. Using his hands to spin, Minato managed to roll out of the man's grip and landed on his feet already bringing a swing on top of the mans head. The man leaped back and just dodged the attack. All this, in seconds.

The man rush Minato and soon enough they were trading blows. Neither could get any head way against the other, any strike was ether dodged or blocked. Minato cursed slightly when the man did a center block and forced his arms apart leaving his chest and stomach open.

_"Raging Boar,"_ shouting the man as he brought his knee into Minato's stomach. Grabbing Minato's head, the man brought it down onto his rising knee and smashed Minato's face against it. Spinning quickly, the man brought a double palm thrust into Minato's chest. _"Roaring dragon!"_

What would have been a fatal blow only blew Minato's body apart as his skin turned brown and soon the earth clone landed on the ground.

**"Rasengan,"** shouted Minato and he thrust the swirling orb into the mans back, causing him to crumble to the ground, the same as Minato's clone.

**"Earth style: Strike of the Panther."**

Minato leaped back as a stone claw stuck at him and a large rock panther clawed out of the ground. Minato kept jumping back, ducking, and side stepping to avoid the cat as he flew through hand signs.

**"Wind style: Wind Blades,"** Minato cried as he threw his hands out at the cat and watch in satisfaction as the cat was torn limb from limb. The only thing left of it was its gaping head. Minato smiled smugly as he walked up to the cats head. "Not so tough now, are you?"

**"Fire style: Dragon's Breath."**

Minato saw the mouth of the cat glow bight, his last words were, "Shit!"

Fire erupted form the cat's mouth and incinerated Minato from the waist up, his lower body was absorbed back into the ground.

_He used an earth jutsu to create a hole in the ground and tunneled to the cats head as I delimbed it. He then used the fire jutsu into the hole and it was guided to and out of the cat's mouth. Clever. _Minato thought as he watched his opponent stand up from the crouch position he was in form using the fire jutsu. Minato knew that the man knew he was here and that the only reason nether had moved was because they didn't know what the other had planned. Minato cursed when he saw the man start to do hand signs and leaped from his position to stop the man from finishing the jutsu.

**"Earth style: Rising Spiral Tower."**

Minato skidded to a stop as he watched the jutsu work and out of the ground erupted a corkscrewing spire that kept shooting up until it reached the height of ten stories, the spire was made of earth and looked like a rolled spider web with all of the interconnecting pillars. On the top of it stood his opponent.

"Fuck it," Minato said as he pulled out a tri-prong kuni and threw it to the top of the spire.

* * *

Mask(opponent will now be called Mask, got tired of all the, the man, things) looked down at the kuni that just smacked into the ground beneath his feet and he only had one thing to say, "Fuck."

Mask flew back and smashed through the opposite wall of the spire, caused by a fist to the face compliments Minato. Rolling with the destruction, Mask focused chakra to his hands and stuck to the outside of the spire. Throwing himself in, he immediately flicked several kunai at Minato and narrowly avoided the kunai that Minato sent in return. Landing, Mask looked at the kunai he caught and swore as he threw it away, it had three prongs.

**"Lightning style: Strike!"**

Mask leaped from his position as the lightning bolt struck his position causing the earth to explode into chunks. Falling, Mask did three hand signs and yelled out, **"Fire style: Phoenix Sage Fire."** Instead of the fire coming from his mouth, Mask shot them from his hands, aiming them at Minato and a few of the kunai. Landing, Mask preformed a spin kick into the air that stood on top of the three pronged kunai he landed next to only to hit nothing. Looking up, he grunted in defiance as he stared down Minato, who had flash to the top most kunai, the original he had first thrown.

**"Earth style: Collapse of the Spiral Tower!"**

**

* * *

**

Minato swore mentally as he ran down the side of the tower as it broke apart from the jutsu Mask used. Minato crouched and gripped the stone with his hands as the section he was on fell away from the tower. Feeling the wind rush past his face, Minato's eyes widened when he saw the ground coming fast. Jumping off, he flipped and rolled as he landed on the grassy ground. He turned, while sealing, to look at the crumbling tower in anticipation, waiting for his opponent to make the next move.

**"Earth style: Earth Spike!"**

Minato threw his hands down and shouted, **"Wind style: Great Break-through!"** The push of the wind just allowed him to dodge as a spike of earth shot from the ground. What he didn't expect was Mask to be running up the spike while holding a seal.

**"Fire style: Pillar of Flame!"**

Minato quirked and eyebrow when Mask blatantly missed and shot the pillar of fire off to his right, only to have them rise to his hair line when the pillar turned and raged toward him.

_He used the air currents that were made from my jutsu to guide his fire._

Minato disappeared in a flash just before the fire could incinerate him.

Mask landed and looked back at the crumbled tower with an unseen smirk on his face. He watched as Minato climbed out of the rubble and glared at him. He wasn't ready for it when Minato took a scroll out and with a quick wind jutsu cased it to fly into the air and unroll as it stretched the length of the clearing. _He wouldn't._

With a burst of smoke, thousands of tri-pronged kunai came flying out of the scroll. Mask placed his hand on the ground and, while channeling chakra, forced the earth to create and earth dome around him. After the tell-tale thumps of the kunai hitting his shield, he released the jutsu and looked around the field. All around were the tri-pronged kunai, the only place that wasn't covered in them was his small circle around his feet.

"This isn't good," Mask calmly said as he pulled out both of his daggers, one in each hand.

A flash in the distance alerted him that the attack was starting and soon he was bombarded by kunai on all sides. Deflecting one on his right he spun quickly to block one that was come at his back. Kunai came from all sides and Mask was in constant movement, spinning, blocking, dodging, even kicking the offending kunai that tried to take his life. Like an iron wall nothing got past him until a flash next to him showed Minato already sending a kick to his head. Mask spun with the kick to lessen the damage and now a whole new game started.

While dodging and blocking the oncoming kunai, Mask lashed out with kicks and punches over the closest kunai. If any one was watching the moment they would see a man in constant motion, surrounded by the promise of death, and flashs of yellow blurring around the field, only distinguishable for a split second as Minato.

When a pause in the kunai presented its self, Mask immediately sheathed his seven inch daggers and flew into hand seals. The second he started the onslaught began again, but now all Mask could do was dodge. Like a flowing river, he twisted and turned around the kunai, kicks, and punches all the while performing hand seals. Not even letting out a grunt when a kunai found a home in his leg, Mask flared his chakra and slammed his hand onto the ground, **"Earth style: Battlefield Burial!"**

All around the field the earth rose from the ground and collapsed onto the tri-pronged kunai, dragging them down into the earth. Soon no tri-pronged kunai remained and all that was left was the rubble of the tower, the charred ground, and the two men starring each other down now only three feet away from each other.

"That's enough, don't you think, Minato?" asked Mask not moving a muscle.

"Yes, I have to agree with you, good spar, Vain," Minato said with a chuckle as he broke the stare down and brought his hand out to shake.

Vain took it with a smile that could only be seen by the twinkle of amusement in his eyes.

Minato remembered when the night when Vain sealed the Kyuubi like it happened yesterday, hard to believe it happened twelve years ago. After the Kyuubi incident Minato hadn't seen Vain for two years, until the time he was going threw the academy students and found Vain listed as one. After the initial contact Minato found Vain to be a good friend, even if he was only nine years old. Vain graduated the academy at twelve and that was when Minato made the worst and best bet of his life.

Flashback

Minato wasn't shocked to see Vain in his office this night, he had just graduated the academy after all. Vain still resembled his seven year old self, just taller and healthier. Healthier because Minato had got him set up with D-rank missions when he was nine so that he could get money to buy things. Minato would have just given him the money that he needed, but Vain had said that you should only show pity to the pitiful, and he was not pitiful.

Minato was shock by the number of D-ranks that he did, about two a day, and Vain found himself with a steady flow of money. Minato shook his head to get out of the past and looked at Vain. "You needed something, Vain, or did you just come to see little ol' me?"

"I want to become a Jonin."

Minato cleaned his ear with his pinky. "Can you repeat that, I swear you just asked to be promoted to jonin."

"I did."

"No."

Vain's gaze didn't falter. "How about a bet?"

"Shoot."

"If I can pass a test that you give me in two month, you make me a jonin."

"And if you can't?"

"If I can't, I'll open the Kamikanto clan's jutsu stores to you and the public."

Minato wasn't surprised that Vain gave him a good bet. The Kamikanto's jutsu stores where large and while several are already known to the village there where a few of them that were so powerful that they would go straight to the Forbidden Scroll. Minato contemplated it for a many minute and finally came to an answer. "Deal."

Needless to say, Vain passed the test to Minato's amazement and became the thing that he had always worked for, the right to be a hunter nin. With the code name Shade, Vain went out into the world and became Minato's most trusted hunter, even offering Vain a position on the ANBU solo division. Vain declined, but he did accept missions that would have other-whys gone to the solo division.

End Flashback

"Have you thought about what I asked?" Minato asked as he and Vain walked through the forest.

Vain laughed softly. "Asked, you practically ordered me."

"I did no such thing, I just heavily pressured."

"You told me that I was teaching a genin team and I said no."

"Exactly, I asked," Minato said while putting his hands behind his head.

Vain shock his head. "Why do I put up with you?"

Minato cocked an eye brow while turning his head to look at him. "Because you love me?"

Vain just kept walking.

Minato put his arms down and looked at Vain, "Seriously, Vain, have you thought about it?"

"Yes, I have."

"And?"

"It wouldn't work. No one would want their child taught by the, 'Last Traitor.'"

"I'm the Hokage, I'll handle that. Please, Vain, I'm asking now. You could create a team to rival the Sannin."

Vain laughed. "A team to rival a group that only got their name because they couldn't take down Hanzo of the Salamander three on one."

"That's beside the point. You know the crop we have graduating this year. Almost all of the clan heirs, council peoples children, my son."

Vain shot a glace at Minato. "And none of the clans would allow me to teach their children, don't even get me started on the civilian council. All of the people you mentioned happen to hate me, besides you."

"The Nara, Akimichi, Yamanaka, Aburame, and Inuzuka don't hate you."

"Yeah, they ignore me, I'd rather they hate me then do that. Why are you so persistent with this, isn't Kakashi taking a team this year?"

"Kakashi? Yeah, he requested my son and Sasuke Uchiha, but don't change the subject."

"Why do you want this so badly?"

Minato stopped walking and looked Vain in the eye, his gaze held a hardened resolve that said he was serious about what he was about to say. "You have been hunting missing nin for the past seven years. On top of that you have been taking mission from me that even the top ANBU squad would find difficult. For kami's sake, Vain, your the only shinobi in the village that has more A and S rank mission then D,C, and B combined."

"Your point?"

"My point is that I want you to take a break, think of the future. You live ever day with out a perpose and I know that it is destroying you on the inside."

Vain paused for a few seconds. Minato couldn't tell a thing from his face due to the mask and the intense stare that he had on. Vain sighed, "I get to pick my own team."

"Deal!"

"...And-"

"And?"

"And... I refuse to do D-rank mission. they're a waist of my and my soon to be team's time. I refuse to do some thing that will interfere with the time that I could use to make my team stronger and better prepared to face the future."

"I'll give you first pick on all of the kids. If any of the clan heads have a problem with it I'll deal with them. So what kind of team are you going to make, tracking, info-gathering, frontal, assassination?"

"Minato, you remember what I said about clans and ninja that specialize in something?"

"I believe you called them, and I quote, 'idiotic fools who will only be useful as fodder when an opponent that can counter their specialization come along, and it will happen," end quote."

"Exactly right, I'm impressed."

Minato flicked him off as he asked, "Why do you bring that up?"

"Because, my team will be what ever you need us to be at any situation and will probably be made of non-clans genin. Now, do we have a deal?" Vain asked as he extended his hand.

Minato looked at Vain, smirked, clasped his hand, shook, and said, "Deal."

* * *

So, this was my first fight, so do tell me how it was and what I should work on. They will get better once I get more experience.

Jutsu List:

**"Rasengan." **If you don't know what this is, I can't even bring myself to insult you.

**"Earth style: Strike of the Panther." **A large rock panther rises from out of the ground to attack you opponent, user must continually supply chakra for the cat to keep moving.

**"Wind style: Wind Blades." **Blade made of wind shoot out from around the caster, can be directed in a specific direction.

**"Fire style: Dragon's Breath." **A large stream of fire shoots out from the user, advanced version of **Pillar of Flame**.

**"Earth style: Rising Spiral Tower." **Causes a large tower to rise form the earth. Use: Changes the field of battle.

**"Earth style: Collapse of the Spiral Tower!" **Breaks down the Rising Spiral Tower to crush the enemy in the rubble.

**"Lightning style: Strike!" **A bolt of lightning shoots from the users hand in the direction the want it to go, only initial direction.

**"Fire style: Phoenix Sage Fire." **Launchs several fire balls.

**"Earth style: Earth Spike!" **A spike rises from the earth.

**"Wind style: Great Break-through!" **Causes a massive gust of wind is the direction used.

**"Fire style: Pillar of Flame!" **Beginner's version of the **Dragon's Breath**.

**"Earth style: Battlefield Burial!" **Origanal used to bury the dead after a large battle, this jutsu causes the earth to swallow anything the user desires in a large area.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

This chapter is a flash back chapter to tell how Minato survived the Kyuubi attack.

If no one noticed, Vain is the main character in this fic.

I'm really trying to make this fic more realistic (as realistic as a fictional world can get). So, you will notice some things in this chapter that I hope does that.

Now enough of me talking on with the fic...

* * *

Minato looked across the village as he pondered the manythings that had happened in his life. He could remember the good moments, like when he married Kushina, and the bad. Today, as he looked out across his city he could only remember the bad. The worst was the day the Kyuubi attacked, he remembered it like, every detail.

(Flash back)

Destruction, that is all Minato could see in the wake of the Nine Tails Demon Fox. It's hard to imagine that this wa;king monument of death could so easily sneak across the land and attack Konoha with out any warning what-so-ever. Minato looks down to the small baby in his arms. His son, Naruto, not even an hour old and already his life is doomed to be filled with hate. Minato's not stupid, he knows that his son's life will be near unbearable but what can he do? Not seal the giant beast that is about to destroy the village into his son? It was only through a stroke of pure genius on his part that he even made the damn seal to do just that.

Minato breathed deep, "Well, I guess it's now or never."

"**You know, I never minded when you where the one summoning me," **said Gamabunta as he shifted out of the way of a fire ball from the Kyuubi.

"Ahh, that's touching," muttered Minato as he started the long series of hand signs. All of his concentration was on this, he only had one shot and if he messed up there goes the neighborhood...and the city...and the country.

His hands were blares as he worked and a sense of dread welled up in his gut at the thought of dieing at the end of this. Pushing the feeling down, Minato signed the last seal and screamed, "Sealing jutsu: Dead Demon Consuming sea... WHAT THE HELL!"

Minato couldn't believe his eyes. Running right past him was what he would guess was a seven year old child. He had brown hair and eyes and his body had a look of malnutrition to it. The rages the boy wore waved in the wind and did nothing to hide the boy's skeletal like frame. Minato became even more shocked when the boy started to do hand seals at an astounding rate that even ANBU would be hard pressed to keep up with. In a flash the boy finish and brought his right hand up to his mouth and bite it while the other pulled out a scroll from the pouch on his back. Throwing the scroll while unrolling it, the boy slide his bloody thumb along the middle of it and leaped off of Gamabunta.

Flying through hands seals at a speed that only came from the fear of the Kyuubi and the adrenaline that coursed through his system the boy started to leak chakra out of his body and caused the scroll to spin around him into a loose cocoon like spiral. Minato only caught a glimpse of the inside of the scroll and what he saw caused his eyes to go even wider then they already have. On the inside was to most complex sealing that he had ever seen, complex but simple. Chakra funneling seals, chakra concentration seals, chakra condenser seals, and chakra recycling seals were among the many he could see, all of them stringed together in a fantastic design that looked like a dragon as the scroll spun about the boy.

Clapping his hands together the boy yelled with all the strength he could muster, "Sealing of the Damned: Endless Consumption of Daemonic Restraint!"

As soon as the words left his mouth the scroll glowed a brilliant blue and flew towards the Kyuubi in the shape of a powerful dragon. Wrapping around the Kyuubi, it constricted until the Kyuubi let loose a cry of pain and fear and then covered the Kyuubi in a blanket of blue chakra. The blanket constricted and shrunk until it was the size of the scroll that it originally came from and finally fell to the ground.

"**Minato, what the hell just happened?" stuttered Gamabunta.**

Minato swallowed hard and slowly answered, "I have no idea."

Jumping down form Gamabunta, Minato walked over to the boy that used the sealing jutsu and saw that he had the scroll that he used in his hands. The boy looked up at Minato, and Minato nearly had a heart attack.

The boy's eyes held an age and wisdom that should never be held in such a young child, the thing that really got to Minato though was the fact that he knew this particular boy. Vain Thanatos, the only survivor of the Kamikanto clan after they betrayed and attack the village three years ago. Needless to say, they were wiped out from the combined forces of the Uchiha, Hyuga, and the shinobi of the village. The only reason Vain wasn't executed was due to his age and his, Minato's, protection of the boy. Last he had heard about the boy was that he was doing fine in an adopted home, guess that info was wrong.

"What did you do, Vain?" Minato asked as he stepped up to the boy, only stopping when the boy took a step back.

"Sorry, instinct at the moment," Vain said, explaining his reason for taking a step back.

Minato nodded, "That's fine, wait, no, that's not fine, what I meant to sa-"

Vain held up a hand. "I know what your trying to say. You want to know how I sealed the Kyuubi, right?"  
Minato nodded.

"I've read about the bujii from several scrolls that I found around the village. So, from those I know that the tail beasts are made up of pure chakra. The only problem is that they contain so much chakra that they must take the shape of gigantic beasts to just contain it all. If you had sealed the Kyuubi into that boy there then, even with the death gods help, the Kyuubi would have broken out in a matter of seconds. The only tailed beast that you could possibly seal into human is the one tail, maybe."

Minato thought about what Vain said for a moment and with a few calculations he realized that Vain was right. If he had sealed the Kyuubi into his son then he would have-

"Don't think those thoughts, Hokage. It didn't happen, that's all that matters."

Minato released a breath he had been holding. "How did you come up with a seal that could hold the Kyuubi?"

"That was actually simpler then you might think, and more complicated then you might think as well."

"Whaaaaat?" Minato asked with a dumbfounded expression.

Vain laughed, a dry chuckle that sounded as if he hadn't laughed in years. "What I mean is this. Since the Kyuubi is only just condensed chakra I figured that if you could some how pull that chakra into a seal then it could hold it. So, by the use of chakra funneling seals I jump started the main seal, a chakra storage seal, with my chakra. Now to make a seal strong enough to hold the Kyuubi would take every ninja in the Elemental Countries chakra but to over come this problem I used chakra recycling seals to use the chakra that the Kyuubi is made from and gives off naturally. With that done, I used chakra condenser seals and chakra concentration seals to make the chakra fit into a smaller space, this scroll. Now if that was it then the Kyuubi could just surge the seal and destroy it, much like a power surge, that is where the chakra surge seals come into play. Every time the Kyuubi sent a blast of chakra out to destroy the seal the surge seals redirected the blast to the recycle seals, which supply the locking seal to hold shut.

"The only problem that I ran into was finding a lock seal that was strong enough, even with the massive amount of chakra form the Kyuubi, to hold it shut. That was when I thought of using a blood script seal. By using my own blood as the ink and making a blood-chakra locking seal on the scroll, the calculations worked out that it would hold. The singular problem that aroused form this is that if anyone, for some ungodly reason, wanted to unseal the Kyuubi they would just have to kill me. This was fixed by a dead man's pennants seal, this seal makes it so that while they still have to kill me they also have to have enough chakra available to equal the chakra sealed in the scroll, in other words, enough to equal the Kyuubi."

By the end of the explanation Minato had his jaw on the ground. It was so simple, so easy, and hard. The extensive number of calculations and seals that had to be made and arranged to cooperate with and compliment each other was staggering, but some how this seven year old boy did it.

**"Daaaaammmmnn."**

"How did you ever have enough knowledge in sealing to do this?"

Vain thought for a moment and a grim frown came over his face. "You have a lot of time on your hands when every one hates you. It was ether go insane from the hate or ignore it and use the time that I had to learn, instead of crying and feeling bad about my life. The world isn't a fair place and who ever says it is, is still under the shadow of the their parents, family, friends. You have to fight for every thing you have and hold on to it or else it will be gone the next day." Vain threw Minato the scroll that he had been holding, the scroll the held the Kyuubi.

Minato looked at the scroll in shock, no child should talk like that. He wasn't ready for the next thing Vain said.

"Take it and tell the people _you _sealed the Kyuubi."

"WHAT?"

"The people won't believe I did it. Not only that but this will also cause any and all enemies to pause. This pause, while short, will be a time of peace for the people, one that they desperately need."

"But-"

"Even if you said I did it the people won't believe you, even if you are the Hokage. After such a traumatic event as this the people are going to need every bit of familiarity as they can find. If that means that I must bare their hate so that they feel better then so be it."

Minato could only watch as Vain turned and walked away, disappearing into the forest that surrounded them. A child of seven years old should never have thought of such things, not the seal, not the other countries, and not the people. A child of seven should have been cowering in fear of the Kyuubi but here was a child that charge straight at it and won.

"Minato-sensei!"

Minato shook his head and turned to Kakashi as he literally flew out of the forest to him. He glanced at his student. Kakashi whore standard ANBU attire with the mask missing, instead he had a face mask and his head band over his left eye. His gravity defying silver hair standing proud. "It's over."

Kakashi looked at Naruto, who was still in Minato's arms, "I don't see a seal, how did you... what happened?"

Minato chuckled happily but he couldn't hide the sad smile as he said, "I had a stroke of genius at the last second that saved my son."

"You're not going to die?"

"No, Kaka-" Minato couldn't finish before he was cut off by Kakashi hugging him.

"Thank Kami."

"Any word on Kushina?" Minato asked his voice was thick with worry.

Kakashi nodded. "Yeah she's back down from critical condition, she's going to make it."

Minato couldn't stop the tears from leaving his eyes. Just and hour ago he had taken his son from his wife and resigned himself to his death and now he, his wife, and his child can still be a happy family.

"Thank you."

* * *

There you go Chapter Two. Again there are a few differences that seperate this fic from others; the strength of the tailed beastes is one of those things. I always thought it was stupid when I would see Naruto use a Tail from the Kyuubi and still barly win the fight. The Kyuubi is the STRONGEST of all the tailed beasts and his single tail can bearly beat a Jonin, that just doesn't sound right to me. So, I gave all the tailed beasts a huge up in power. I hope that makes sence.

Alright see you next time  
-Judgment


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto (there the note card is read)

Yeah teams! I will alert you to a cheesy moment right now, it's at the bottom. you'll know when you see it and you'll think, _Awwwwwww, that was so cute._ And then you'll barf.

Yeah that's right, you'll throw-up from the cuteness.

Lots of info in this one.

* * *

Minato didn't even blink when a silent swirl of black clouds appeared and out walked Vain. He looked sighed and stared at his desk. He looked at the paperwork that was staked on it and in one motion threw them all on the floor. Grabbing some files he turned to Vain. "Here, these are the files of all the graduates this year."

Vain nodded, while taking them.

"I still want to know how you got Kushina to let you give her cooking lessions," Minato said as he put a bento on the floor next to his chair.

"And all the kages in the world ant to know how you defeat paperwork, but you don't seem to be telling them."

"That's because it only worked from the seal we created. The kage bushin never actually kept the knowledge from when they disappeared, it's only from that seal we made that it happens. Even so, the head ache you get form it is near debilitating."

"There are no shortcuts when it comes to power," Vain answered as he chuckled. "Now, was there anything else you needed or can I look over these files and pick my team?"

Minato raised his hands and shrugged his shoulders. "I got nothing."

Vain nodded as he lay down on the couch that was in the office and started to open one of the files, the rest were lying on his chest and belly.

Minato stared at him, "Really, you're going to do that here."

Vain glanced up at him. "You have a problem with it," was all he said before he went back to reading.

"I hate you."

Files

Aburame, Shino  
Age: 12  
Clan: Aburame  
Weight: 45.8 Kg  
Height: 156.2 cm  
Observations of Sensei: Shino is a quiet child who heavily relies on logic. This can be seen as both a boon and a debt. A boon because he can be the voice of reason in the team, but a debt because he has trouble making connections to others. Spends much of his spare time watching bugs instead of talking to the rest of the kids. Etc...

Akimichi, Choji  
Age: 12  
Clan: Akimichi  
Weight:62 Kg  
Height:150.6 cm  
Observations of Sensei: Choji is very sensitive about his weight and I have had to punish several kids do to making fun of him. Like any Akimichi, Choji is kind, yet shy. It seems that the Ino-Shika-Cho friendship has been made between Choji and Shikamaru Nara, though Choji may be a little too dependent on Shikamaru. Etc...

Haruno, Sakura  
Age: 12  
Clan: N/a  
Weight: 35.4 Kg  
Height: 148.5 cm  
Observations of Sensei: Unfortunately, Sakura has extreme fan-girl tendencies. Her focuses are Naruto Namikaze and Sasuke Uchiha. The tendencies need to be broken as fast as possible or else she will be nothing but a detriment to the team she is placed on. Under no conditions should she be placed on the same team as the two previously mentioned. Etc...

Ami  
Age: 12  
Clan: Banished from the Hanabisha clan  
Weight: 34.2 Kg  
Height: 148.4 cm  
Observations of Sensei: Ami suffered a heavy blow when she was banished from the Hanabisha clan after her uncle forcefully took control of it. It was only to save face that he didn't kill the child. Still, Ami is a spunky girl that always has a smile on her face. Etc...

Ai  
Age: 12  
Clan: Banished from the Hyuga  
Weight: 31.4 Kg  
Height: 140.7 cm  
Observations of Sensei: It seems that for as many clan heirs we have this year we have just as many banished from the same clans. Ai was banished form the Hyuga because she was a Councilman's daughter, but do to the fact that she was born with red, instead of the white or lavender, eyes it wasn't known until recently that she couldn't activate the Byakugan. Ai hasn't handled the outright hate of the Hyuga well and is not a quiet child that rarely speaks( note: If I had to guess she only rarely because she is scared of saying the wrong thing, maybe in fear of a punishment.). She will have to have an eye kept on her when on a team and the Sensei will have to go a step farther to gain her trust. Etc...

Hyuga, Hinata  
Age: 12  
Clan: Hyuga  
Weight: 37.9 Kg  
Height: 147.3 cm  
Observations of Sensei: Hinata has obvious self-confidence issues. This must be fixed for her to be an effective Ninja. Even so, she is a very kind child, who acts nothing like a typical Hyuga. Her best friend is, surprisingly, Ai. Regardless of what she believes she is strong and has some incredible potently. Etc...

Inuzuka, Kiba  
Age:12  
Clan: Inuzuka  
Weight: 43.3 Kg  
Height: 151.2  
Observations of Sensei: Kiba is, with out a doubt, the most competitive student in my class. This comes straight from his clan but it should still be watched and if needed checked. If the Sensei put him in his place quickly, the team would run much smoother. Besides that, Kiba is a superb Ninja and with that nose of his he will make a great Tracker Nin. Etc...

Namikaze, Naruto  
Age: 12  
Clan: Namikaze  
Weight: 45.2 Kg  
Height: 153.6 cm  
Observations of Sensei: Classified.

Nara, Shikamaru  
Age: 12  
Clan: Nara  
Weight: 42 Kg  
Height: 150.8 cm  
Observations of Sensei: To my undying hate, Shikamaru is the laziest student I have ever had. A genius and perfect tactician, he has no will to do anything at all. If any Sensei breaks this habit of him I will personally thank you. As said before, Shikamaru is best friends to Choji Akimichi. Let the statement stand that those two rely on each other much too heavily and should be placed on different teams. Etc...

Kitara  
Age: 12  
Clan: Banished from the Uchiha  
Weight: 34.7 Kg  
Height: 149.3 cm  
Observations of Sensei: Due to the banishment from the Uchiha, due to not having the ability the produce the Sharingan (Note: I, personally, believe that there was something more to it that just that. Since her eyes are green I think she has an non-Uchiha parent.), Kitara does not have the regular Uchiha attitude. She is well liked by most every one and is rarely, if ever, alone. Her looks has cause many boys to take on a, dare I say it, fan-boy tendency to her, to her utter irritation. Etc...

Uchiha, Sasuke  
Age: 12  
Clan: Uchiha  
Weight: 42.2 Kg  
Height: 150.8 cm  
Observations of Sensei: Sasuke's arrogance is going to get him killed. Don't take this wrong, he is the Rookie of the Year, but with his attitude he will make it, can't believe I'm saying this, troublesome for a team to function normally. Under no circumstances should Kiba Inuzuka be place on the same team as Sasuke. Etc...

Yamanaka, Ino  
Age: 12  
Clan: Yamanaka  
Weight: 38.2  
Height: 149.3  
Observations of Sensei: Fan-girl is all that can be said. Break this and you have a great Ninja. Ino has shown to be a total gossip queen, while not necessarily bad, it can add tension to the team if some one has to tell a secret. Do not for any reason place on the same team as Sasuke Uchiha. Etc...

Other Files...  
All observation by Iruka Umino  
End Files  
(Important: there is more in the files that is what "etc..." means)

Vain stood up form the couch and stretched his back. Walking over to Minato, who was reading a mission request, took out three files and threw them on the desk. "These three are mine."

Minato put the scroll down and opened the files and read the names. He smirked, "Somehow I thought you were going to pick these three."

"They have potential."

Minato grinned, "They have a similar background as you." Minato's eyes widened and a asked in fear while pointing at Vain, "Oh Kami! Are you growing a heart?"

Vain smiled, "Just arrange it."

"Yeah, yeah. You have them," Minato said as he looked back down at the files. Glancing back up he added, "I believe in you." Minato didn't mind that he was talking to the air, he knew that Vain heard.

"About time he left."

Minato looked over to the window, where he saw Jiraiya coming in. "You know, you cold have just came in when Vain was here."

"I know that , but he sets me on edge."

"I hope your not implying anything," Minato said as he leveled a glare.

Jiraiya raised his hands in a peaceful manner. "I didn't, it's just something about him, like he knows more about you then you yourself do."

Minato nodded. "Yeah, he has that effect, but when you get over that he easily become one of your most trusted friends. You know, if he didn't dislike clans so much I would make him and honorary Namikaze." Minato turned back to his work, "So, what did you need Ero-Sannin?"

"I have some information about a group that is gathering all of the Tailed Beasts, they call themselves, Akatsuki."

* * *

Vain made no noise as he walked through the forest. He was currently in the forest on top of the Hokage monument, heading to the one place he can let his guard drop, home. Vain sighed slightly when he passed the Genjutsu and Seal barrier that surrounded his land. A few more minute of walking brought him to a small, three room, two bathroom home. It was painted an earth brown, which blended well with the surrounding trees. In the back was a multi-level garden that held all of his herbs, arranged perfectly in section of use. Walking inside, he went around a corner and down a hall that lead to stairs leading down to a basement.

Turning on the lights, Vain looked around at all of the scrolls that lined the walls and shelves of his scroll room. He sighed as he thought of training the next generation and got to work making a training schedule for his future team.

* * *

Iruka sighed as he took one last look at his class before he stepped into the classroom. He knew that some of them would become great ninjas one day, but he also knew that some, if not all, all would die on a mission or on the battlefield. He would remember all of them:

Naruto Namikaze: the Hokage's son, his yellow hair unkempt and going in all of it's spiky directions. His blue eyes sparkled in delight as he talked to some of the other students. He wore his black banded forehead protector on his forehead, a black shinobi shirt with an orange spiral on the back, middle shin length blue shorts with his kuni pouch on his right hip, and on his feet were ninja sandals.  
(I would do the rest but they are all wearing the same stuff as the anime so onto my OCs, I do have pics of my OCs on my account, but the pics aren't my I do not claim them, I'm simple using them as a reference, so yes there will be some differences from the pics, like clothing and a few other things.)

Ai: she wore her red banded forehead protector as a belt instead of her head, letting her navy hair to fall to her lower back, her pure red eyes where half shut in an uninterested stare, her battle kimono was crimson red with white bordering, looking at her legs you could see pants coming out from the kimono as it ended at mid thigh, they were standard issue black shinobi pants, on her right thigh was her kuni pouch, and on her feet were regular black shinobi sandals.

Kitara: she wore her forehead protector on her forehead, but it was mostly covered by her bangs the curved over it, her raven black hair was put into pig tails that reached down to her mid-thighs, her green eyes spoke of her non-Uchiha blood, her blue shirt was stopped a little after her small bust with pale gold bordering it. Her black pants stopped at mid-thigh and had many pockets and two belts that crossed at the side, black tights covered the rest of her legs and ran up into her pants, her kuni pouch was strapped to her right leg, on her feet where black wrap-around combat sandals.

Ami: She wore her red banded forehead protector on her left thigh opposite her kuni pouch which was on her right leg, her black eyes looking around the class, her white shirt only covered her small bust(smaller then the pic), she wore a red over shirt that stopped half way down her back and didn't even cover her arms, her red pants were more like a two part dress do to being cut on both sides of his hips and bordered by a dark red, a pattern of dark red played across her dress like pants, under the "pants" she had dark red tights that stopped a few inches before the dress, brown shinobi sandals with a brown band bound mid-calf on both legs finish her attire.

He cleared he throat as he stepped into the class room. A tick mark appeared when the noise didn't decrease. His head enlarged and he screams, "Shut up!" The noise stopped almost instantly and Iruka couldn't help a smile to come across his face. "Today, I'm happy to say that all of you are now graduated... (Insert speech here)  
"The teams will be as follows: team one...

Team seven: Naruto Namikaze, Sasuke Uchiha, and Sakura Haruno, your Sensei is Kakashi Hatake.

Team eight: Shino Aburame, Kiba Inuzuka, and Hinata Hyuga, your Sensei is Kurenai Yuhi.

Team nine is still in rotation.

Team ten: Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akimichi, and Ino Yamanaka, your Sensei is Asuma Sarutobi.

Team eleven: Kitara, Ai, Ami, your Sensei is Vain Thanatos.

You Sensei will be here soon, I hope for all of your success," Iruka said as he put his hands into a seal, "Good luck." In a poof of smoke he was gone.

Talking stared slowly and was soon in full rage as teams got together and friends said good bye for the moment. Soon team eleven found them selves together, but before they could even introduce them selves people started to walk in.

(You know what they all look like)

Kitara couldn't help but get peeved when she heard Sakura and Ino start talking about the last guy to walk into the room. He had brown hair...(You know who it is). She also couldn't stop the embarrassment of being the same sex as them when they started to sequel and giggle about how hot he was. _He's wearing a mask, how do you know that he's hot, stupid fan-girls._

The black haired, red eyed women step forward, "Team eight your with me, meet me in front of the school."

A man with facial hair stepped forward, "Team ten, meet me at the front as well."

"Team seven meet me on the roof, " said a man that walked in from the out side. Mutterings of, "How dare he threaten my Icha Icha," could be heard coming from him.

The last man started to walk out of the room to the outside, "Team eleven meet me by the tree out side."

Kitara, Ami, and Ai found their Sensei leaning up against the tree that he stated. He had a black mask on, black shinobi shirt that didn't cover the shoulders, from his shoulders to his mid-forearms were bandages, he had full length shinobi pants that where tucked into black combat boots, on his hands he had fingerless gloves and on the back of both of them where metal plates with the symbol of the Leaf on them, on his belt were three seven inch daggers, two on the left and one on the right, and the last thing on him the girls remember a black pouch that could be opened from both sides was positioned on the small of his back.

"Lets do introductions, shall we?" he said while looking up. "My names Vain Thanatos. I like to train, study seals, learn new jutsu, practice new taijutsu, and a few more things, my dislikes are my own. The only hobby I have is tending to my herb garden and as for dreams of the future... to help you three reach yours. Do you mind going next, Ai?"

Ai shock head slightly and said in a quiet voice that sounded as if she was unsure if she should talk or not, "My names Ami. I like to read scrolls on chakra, I don't like crowds, I like to walk around the parks as a hobby, and my cream for the future is to prove that I'm useful."

Vain nodded, "Aim, if you would."

She jumped up while pumping her fist, "Yo'kay! I'm Ami, I like cloths, I don't like fan-boys, I don't really have a hobby, I just kinda do what ever sounds fun. Ummm, my dream is to take back the Hanabisha clan from my ex-uncle."

"Alright and you, Kitara?"

"My name is Kitara, I like to hang out with my friends, I don't like people who worship blood lines, my hobby is calligraphy, and my dream is to make the Uchiha ask for my to come back, so I can say no."

During all of this Vain hadn't moved besides to look at each girl as they introduced themselves so it startled them when he suddenly rush them.

* * *

Kitara put a hand to her head to get over the vertigo. She felt nauseous and wondered where she was.

"Don't worry girls, it happens to every one the first time."

"What was that?" asked Ami as she stumbled a step.

Vain didn't turn back to them as he answered, "That was the **Shushin**. Now follow me, moving helps get rid of the nausea and vertigo."

Kitara followed as fast as she felt safe to and soon realized that she was in a forest. The grassy path they walked on showed the weir and tear of passage all the way up the hill they walked on. When Kitara reached the top she saw Vain-Sensei standing next to a stone that was in the center of a clearing.

When she and the other two girls got close he spoke, "This is the Memorial Stone. On this are the names of all the ninja who have died in the line of duty." He turned to look at them, his eyes were hard set. "It is my job, as a Sensei, that your names never end up on this rock. If they do, I failed as a Sensei because I didn't prepare you enough. The rest of the Jonin are waiting until tomorrow to test their team."

"Test?" _Leave it to Ami to interrupt _thought Kitara. "I thought we already passed?"

"You passed the test that allows you to take the test to truly become genin, understand?" Vain answered with surprising patience.

"Yes."

"I, on the other hand, want to get it done with now. You can all breath easy, because I've already decided to take you three as my team. But I have one question that I want an answer to."

Kitara let out a breath she didn't know she was holding and then asked, "What question?"

"Will you follow every order, every command that I give you without hesitation?"

"Yes," Kitara and Ami answered at the same time, followed slowly behind by Ai.

"That... wasn't the answer I wanted."

"What do you mean?" Kitara asked with curiosity in her voice.

"I mean just as I said, that wasn't the answer I wanted. I don't want to train some dim wits that will do everything I say, if I did, I would get a dog. The answer to the question, for me, is no."

Ai raised her hand slightly and when Vain raised his hand toward her she asked, "Why?"

"If I ordered you to kill a villager, would you do it?"

They all shook their heads.

"What if the Hokage ordered you too?"

Kitara was confused. What would she do in that position? The academy didn't prepare her for this.

"If the Hokage ordered me to kill an innocent civilian I would tell him no with out hesitation. It is true that it is a Ninja's job to listen to the Hokage, a good ninja does, but a truly great Nin knows when to ask questions and take a stand against an order until it is explained and if it isn't reasonable in that Nin's eyes then they do all that is in their power to go against that order. I'm not training dogs, but Ninja. Ninja that can think for them selves, take in situations, and come up with their own plans. Many Sensei believe that teamwork is the most important, but I disagree. Yes, it is important, but from my experiences I have never had the chance to use team work because my team was ether in equal number or out numbered by the enemy. In one on one battles, teamwork means nothing.

Look at each of you and me, by joining this team we have become a family and we will stand together through the best and the worst of it, that is the source of our teamwork. If each of you put all your effort into everything you do I promise to make you into the greatest kunoichi that I can. Now, who wants to begin training?"

Kitara smiled. "We have a lot to learn, if you'll teach us..."

Ai brought her hands up to her face in fists and said, "I'll do my best..."

Ami jumped into the air while punching up, "I'm ready if you're ready..."

"Vain-Sensei!"

* * *

Yes, the ending was cheesy as all holy hell, my job here is done. Now clean up that puke, it's disgusting.  
Until next time,  
-Judgment


	4. Chapter 4

Diclaimer: I don't own Naruto *shoots gun* and now I do... just kidding.

Training today, I hope I make it at least half way interesting. I'm a little hesitant putting the normal characters in, so in this chapter I test the waters. I have noticed that I do have problems writing when I ahve a large group together, I will iron this problem out.

* * *

Vain watched the sun rise with a bored expression, making a training program for his team was harder then he had given it credit for. Normally he just trained in what he needed work in and then went from there, but these girls... they need work in every thing. Granted, they did just graduate but from what he saw yesterday...

Vain looked away from the sunset and toward the training grounds that they were using. It had a large grassy field with three poles on the south side, on the north was a pond, and a river cut the grounds in half. All in all, it was perfect to train new Genin.

"Vain-Sensei!"

Vain glanced down the grassy path that he was standing in and saw Ami waving. Behind her came Kitara and Ai. He smiled when he noticed the slight limps they each had and knew that it was a good idea the do a small amount of training yesterday. "Hello, Ami."

Ami ran up to him, "So, what are we doing today?"

Vain held up his hand and waited for the other two to get there and gave them a welcome. "Today we're going to do some physical work for about two hours." The girls groaned. "Then, while some Sensei don't teach this right away I am, we will work on our chakra control for about three hours. Then we'll take a lunch break, while we are taking that break, I'll be lecturing you on some things that I believe you each should know about the shinobi life style, which should take an hour. After that break, we will be going over tactics and planning for two hours. Taijutsu will follow that for two more hours. It will be 3:00pm then and normally teams do D-rank missions then, but, due to some special arrangements, this team doesn't have to. So, we will use the extra hours given to us to go over what ever I think we should go over at that time."

"That sounds like a lot," Ami said with a fearful face.

Vain smiled at that, the girls could tell because his eyes held laughter in them. "I know it does but, I hate to tell you all this but you are all currently behind the rest of your class. Don't feel bad about that, they are all the children of clan heads and council-members, it is going to be obvious that you three will be a little behind."

"How far behind are we," Kitara asked with a scowl.

"Not far, after about a month you should be caught up, that's including training with their Sensei. After that, I would guess that you three will be the strongest of your graduating class."

Ami grinned, "That's awesome."

"Don't think it's going to be easy," Vain said with a serious voice. "You three will have to try your hardest ever single day on everything you do. Power doesn't just appear and is never given to you, you have to work for it. If you're in a life or death situation, you will not get a sudden power bust, defeat your enemy, and save that day. That's nothing but a nice fantasy. By training, right here and now, will you get the strength to protect, to defeat, and to save everyone and anything. There is no such thing as a limit to the amount of power you can have. Just, don't let it get to your head. Arrogance and pride have no place on the battlefield. Now," Vain reached behind his back and brought out three water bottles, "drink these."

The girls each took one and after one sip, blanched. "What is this crap?" asked Ami as she wiped off her tongue.

Vain laughed little, "That, crap, as you call it, is a vitamins and mineral rich drink that will help supplement your work out. I have a special reason for you drinking it, trust me."

Ami gulped, "Doesn't make it taste any better. Oh, well, down the hatch it goes." She drank it as fast as she could. The other girls followed her example soon after.

Vain stood up from the tree he was resting on and clapped his hands, "Great, let's begin."

* * *

Ami collapsed. "No more, no more."

Vain smiled and looked at the other two. Kitara had he hands on her knees, Ai was sitting on the ground, and each were breathing hard.

Ami gave Vain a glare, "You, Sensei, are evil." The other two nodded their heads in agreement.

Vain raised his hands and a green glow emitted form them and surrounded the girls. "Let's see what you say after this."

"What are you doing?" Kitara asked breathlessly.

"I'm using healing chakra to speed up the repair process on you muscles and other systems. Before you jump round with joy Ami, let me explain why you should never do this, unless you've countered the side effects. When healing chakra is applied to a wound it only stimulates and hyper accelerates the growth of new cells. To make these new cells your body needs a high supply of nutrients, other wise the new area becomes weaker then the rest of the body. For example, healing a broken bone with medical chakra does indeed heal it but it will be much weaker the rest o the bone around it and prone to break again. Your body naturally fixes this by bone modification. Now, remember the drinks you had before the work out?"

All of the girl's eyes widened and a smile slowly formed on each of their faces.

"It seems that you each have figured it out, but I'll tell you anyway. By drinking that and then working out, all of the nutrients were moved around you body and now there will be no negative side effects from this healing." Vain stopped the flow of chakra and the green "mist" surrounding the girls disappeared. "How do you all feel?"

Each of them stood up and moved around a little. "I feel fantastic," Ami said with a jump, Kitara spoke her agreement, and Ai nodded.

"Good, we'll be doing this after each work out. So yes, Ami, more of that "crap.""

Ami blushed.

Vain motioned the girls to follow him as he walked toward the forest surrounding them. When he got to a tree he pulled off three leafs and turned to the girls. "All Sensei that I've talked to skipped this exercise, but I like this one and am will to bet that I will see faster results then the rest of the Sensei when it comes to teaching chakra control. The exercise is the leaf stick," he said as he brought a leaf to his forehead and when he brought his hand away the leaf stuck. "As you can see the leaf is "sticking" to my forehead, but what is actually happening it my chakra is holding it on." He handed the girls each their own leaves. "We'll be doing this for the next week and I am ordering you to ask any questions you have to help with this exercise."

The girls nodded and quickly got to work. The next three hours was full of questions and silence as the girls worked on the exercise. Vain found himself sitting next to a tree reading a scroll after the first hour and watched his team train from the corner of his eyes.

"Okay, time for lunch," Vain said as he stood up. Ami cheered and ran over, the other two follow slowly.

Vain pulled a scroll out of hi pouch and unsealed three bentos, handing the girls one each.

"How do you fit so mush stuff in that little pouch?" Ami asked as she pulled her bento open.

Kitara nodded and said, "I was wondering the same thing."

"As was I," Ai said as she said a short thanks for the food.

Vain sat down and sighed. "It would take all day to explain the sealing process that went into this pouch of mine, so I'll just leave it at sealing."

"So, seals allow that to happen?" asked Kitara.

Vain nodded. "Yes, it does have a limit to how much I can fit into it but it though and I can't put something ridiculous into it like a large sealing scroll. About the largest thing that can go into this is small scrolls and I can only fit five of those until it can't fit any more. At the moment I have: 30 kuni, 10 shuriken, two scrolls, and the water bottles from before. Any more questions?"

Kitara raised her hand, "Aren't you going to eat?"

"I did when you all were do the chakra exercises. Any more questions?"

None of the girls said anything.

"Okay, today I'm going to talk about some misconceptions that Genin usually have. The first is that you can only perform jutsu from your affinity. That isn't true, it's just easier. For example, I have earth and water as my affinities, but I have and use jutsu form every element. This misconception comes form shinobi that only use jutsu from their elements. They do this because it is: 1. easier, and 2. uses less chakra. I'm not going to find out what your elements are until two weeks have passed. I'm doing this because you should have above average control for your chakra and it will make it easier for you when you're learning to use your elemental chakra. This I'll explain when we get to it.

Another misconception that Genin have is that they will get to Chunin and Jonin levels quickly. This is not true. With my training schedule, you three should reach Chunin level in about six months. The jump from Chunin to Jonin is larger then from Genin to Chunin and this is easily seen in the amount of time it takes to reach that level. The average person takes about seven to eight years to reach Jonin level after they become Chunin. This may seem like a long time, but it is because when you become Jonin you have the choice of becoming a Hunter-Nin, ANBU, Jonin-Sensei, or a full fledged Medic-Nin. You will here about people becoming Jonin at young ages and think that it is common, but if you go looking for blond haired people you will undoubtedly find them. Just because it happens doesn't mean it is common, for ever one of the people that become Jonin at a young age, there are tens to hundreds of other Shinobi that don't."

Ai raised he hand slightly and, when Vain nodded to her, asked, "Then that would make you a fresh Jonin?"

Vain thought for a second. "I'm one of the exception."

"How old were you?" Kitara asked this time.

"I was twelve when I became a Jonin."

Ami pointed with a shocked face, "WHAT? You were our age when you became a Jonin?"

"Yes, but like I said, it doesn't happen often."

"So, how old are you then?" Kitara asked after the ringing in her ears stopped.

"I'm nineteen."

Ami looked at him wide eyed, "And did you make this food?"

Vain answered hesitantly, "Yes."

"I love you."

Vain shot up, "Okay, lunch it over."

"It hasn't been an...," Ami said as she check the time, "Wow, that went by fast."

Vain sealed the empty bentos into a scroll and unsealed a long roll of paper. After unrolling it the girls saw intricate seals all over the paper, which was roughly five by five feet. Pushing some chakra into it a some-what see through forest appeared. In it could be seen small people that looked like Shinobi, some were grouped together in a camp of sorts, single people could be seen on watch around the camp, and another group could be seen a small distance off from the of the camp, out of sight from the sentries.

"Wow, that's awesome," shouted Ami at seeing what the scroll did.

Kitara flashed her hand through the terrain, "How are you doing this?"

"Genjutsu," answered Ai as she to started to move her hand through the terrain.

"That's exactly right," said Vain. "The Genjutsu is stabilized and modified by the seals on the paper, you just have to add a small amount of chakra and this is what you get. Of course, it can do other situations as well."

Ami had stars in her eyes, "So cool."

Vain smiled as he pointed at the group that was hiding, "This group is under your control. The Hokage gave you three Jonin, two Chunin, and a single Medic-Nin, who is also an ANBU. You mission is to take down this enemy encampment," he pointed to the camp," without suffering a single casualty. Luckily, one of your Jonin is a Hyuga and with their Byakugan are able to tell you that your enemy has four Jonin and three Chunin. Begin."

The next two hours were spent with the girls talking to each other and discussing plans on how to finish the objective. Vain was reasonably impressed with Ai, who turned out to be a fantastic tactician. She far surpassed his expectations when she, along with the rest of the girls, presented three possible options.

As he rolled the paper back up and sealed it away he asked, "We have two hours left, we are going to use that time to work on your girl's kuni and shuriken throwing."

"But we can already hit a target," responded Ami.

"Can you hit it when it is moving, when you're moving, while spinning, in the air, while both of you are moving, while it is throwing kuni back? Just because you can hit a target doesn't mean you can hit a person, they won't stand there and let you hit them."

Ami put her head down in embarrassment.

"Don't be embarrassed, a lot of Genin don't think of it. Anyways, when I get done with all of you, you'll be able to do all that and more."

Vain made three earth clones and soon the girls were running, jumping, and spinning, all while throwing a weapon. All of this was done under Vain's watchful eyes and every so often he would show one of the girls how to do something, and easier way to so something, or correct something that they were doing wrong.

"Alright, that's a day girls," yelled out Vain as his earth clone went back into the earth. "Same time tomorrow."

"Vain-Sensei, are you going to walk with us back to town?" Kitara asked as she and the rest of the girls walked over to him.

"I'm afraid I can't, but I can give you a ride."

* * *

After a quick Shunshin, the girls found themselves out of the forest and at the bridge that lead to the training grounds. Vain waved and in a swirl of black clouds, he was gone.

The girls walked across the bridge toward town when Ami ran ahead. She turned around and asked, "You two want to do something, maybe get some food?"

Kitara thought about it and answered, "Yeah, sure."

Ai just nodded.

"Have any place in mind?" Kitara asked?

Ami nodded, "Yeah there's this Korean barbecue place not far from here."

They arrived ten minute later upon entry were walked to a table. They stopped when they heard, "Kitara-Chan!"

The girls looked over and saw Kiba waving franticly. He was seated with the rest of his team and teams, 7 and 10.

Kitara shrugged and said, "Why not."

Soon the three girls from team eleven were seated at the table, Kitara was unhappily seated next to Kiba, and Ai was in between Kitara and Ami, with Ami next to Sakura.

"What are you all doing here?" Ami asked as she put some cooked pork on her plate.

Naruto grinned, "We all passed our tests today, we're official Genin."

"Did you girls pass your test?" Kiba asked as he ate some of the food on the grill.

"Yeah, we had our test yesterday," Ami said with a grin on her face.

Sakura shrieked. "How did that happen?"

Kitara answered, "Our Sensei decided to pass us before we met him. The only test we had was to answer a question."

Hinata leaned over, "What question?"

Kitara explained the question and the answer that he wanted.

"Sounds like a serious guy," Naruto said.

Ami shook her head. "Naw, he is actually pretty nice. Though when is comes to training he is evil."

Kitara and Ai shuddered.

Soon everyone was talking about different things and the laughter of friendship could be heard.

* * *

Minato looked up from the scroll he was reading and saw Vain appear in a black cloud. Nodding toward him he went back to the scroll for the few precious minutes he could before the rest of the Jonin-Sensei made it to his office. A knock on the door signed the Jonin-Senseis arrivals and soon enough Minato had ten jonin in his office, including Vain. "Alright, we'll start with team one."

"Team one, failed."

"Team two, failed big time."

"Team three, gone-zo"

"Team four, nope."

"Team five, praying to Kami they never try again."

"Team six, crying like babies."

"Team seven-"

"Holy shit," scream one of the Jonin. He raised his hands into a seal and said, "Kai." He looked up and when Kakashi was still there he had an astounded face on.

Minato laughed, "Nope, it's him alright."

Asuma asked in awe, "How did you get him here on time?"

Minato grinned, "That is a trade secret."

"Maw, maw, it's not like I'm late all the time."

Everyone was silent.

"I hate you all. Team seven, passed."

"Team eight, passed."

"Team ten passed," snickered Asuma.

Minato nodded as he finished writing the info down, "Alright, thank you all for coming."

Kurenai raised and eyebrow, "What about team eleven?"

Minato looked at Vain who was leaning against the wall to his right, then turned back to the assembled Jonin. "Team eleven passed yesterday."

'What? I thought we had to test today?" asked Kurenai.

"Vain made special arrangements with me, speaking of which," Minato turned fully to Vain, "what the hell are you doing here?"

Vain opened his eyes and quirked an eyebrow. "I like the view?"

Minato's eyebrow twitched. "Don't make me slap you."

"The bitch slap of Minato Namikaze," Vain said with a smile, "now I'm scared. I came here to answer a curiosity."

"And that curiosity is?"

Vain leaned in and whispered in Minato ear so that the rest of the Jonin couldn't hear, "Clan law 47 is still in affect, correct?"

Minato whispered back, "Since when have you cared about clan laws, but yeah, it's still in effect why?"

Vain stood up and turned toward the window, "No reason, no reason at all." Vain disappeared in a black cloud.

"Lord Hokage?"

Minato stared out the window for a few seconds then turned back to the jonin. "Yes, Kurenai?"

"What was that about and why did you not mind such disrespect from him?"

Minato laughed, "You obviously don't know Vain. Enough of this you may all leave, I want to get home to my family."

After all of the Jonin left, Minato took one last look out the window and then left with one thought on his mind,  
_Why does Vain need to know that banished individuals no longer apply under clan laws?_

_

* * *

_

There we are. I actually had a lot of fun with this one, as you can tell with the explinations. Yes, this Fan-fic is a little different then most. I'm trying to make it more realistic and by making the tailed beasts near invincable and the jonin stronger then normal I believe I'm doing that. Okay, next time has a small time skip and Vain and his team have an encounter with a Hyuga Noble, I wonder who this is going to turn out.  
Until next time-Judgment


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto...

Okay, I have no reviews for added OCs as of yet but I'm holding strong that It will start taking off. Seriously, If anyone is reading this, please review, even if it is one word. I just really want to know if anyone is reading this as of yet.

Well, enough with the pleading...This time Vain has an encounter with a Hyuga noble and tells a story, enjoy.

* * *

"I just can't believe that two weeks have already gone by," said Ami as she and the other two girls from team eleven walked toward the bridge that crossed the river. The river cut off a section a training grounds and a small distance in the forest was their, team eleven's, training ground.

Two weeks had changed the girls, both physically and mentally. The girls were all stronger, fast, more agile, and had more endurance then they even had before and due to all of the mental training that Vain put them through they could now act as a coordinated team and could each confidently take the Genin graduation test again and pass with full marks. They learned the academy taijutsu to an extent that Vain claimed that they had mastered it. He was now teaching them a taijutsu of his own called, Wolf Fist. It relied heavily on speed but when the situation called for it, it also had some heavy hitting moves. Vain said that this was the first real taijutsu that he ever learned and still used it somewhat to this day. The last thing that really apparent was the girls chakra control. After mastering the leaf sticking training in four days, to Vain's mild surprise, they started on tree walking. They mastered that only three days ago and had now moved on to water walking. All the girls were progressing quickly through it under Vain's careful guidance and readily given hints.

Ami pointed toward the bridge and asked, "Who's that?"

Kitara squinted her eyes, "I think that's, Vain-Sensei."

"Really," Ami said in surprise, "maybe he is waiting to walk us to the grounds."

Kitara smiled as Ami ran off toward Vain and when she got close enough she could here Ami talking about what they were going to be doing today. Ami changed to most of the three due to her extreme change in the volume of her voice. The reason for this was because of a lecture Vain gave the girls on how a Shinobi is quite and patient. Ami hasn't yelled since.

"Good morning girls," Vain greeted his usual greeting when Kitara and Ami finally made it to him. They returned the welcome and looked at him expectantly.

"Today our training ground is being used for some Jonin training drills, but we have been given permission to use training ground 27 in return." Vain stood from his leaning position and walked across the bridge motioning the girls to follow.

The girls followed and soon fond them selves in a large field with a forest bordering the north and west sides. Unlike their usual training ground, there was nothing in the middle of the field.

Vain turned back around to face the girls. "Alright, let's begin."

* * *

The girls sighed in relief as the green glow receded back to Vain. The physical work out had become something of a game to the girls as they relive that it didn't matter how hard they worked, they never felt muscle pain the next day. The game was simple; who ever could work themselves the hardest won. Over all it was a great way to bond and also work out even harder, until Vain told them to take it easier that one time.

"Okay," Vain said as he dropped his arms back to his side, "Since we can't do water walking to day we are going to do a different exercise." Vain sped through some hand seal and slammed them on the ground saying, "Earth style: Pillars."

Out of the ground rose six pillars. They were arranged in two staggered lines, were about eight feet apart, and foot wide, and raised about three stories. Vain walked over to the first one and leaped up toward it. He rotated in the air to hit the pillar with his feet and immediately kicked off toward the next pillar. Over and over did he do this until he got to the last pillar and after kicking off he landed on the ground in a roll. Vain rose and yelled to the girls as he walked back, "That is what you'll be doing today."  
Kitara looked at the pillars and then at Vain. "Umm, Vain-Sensei, how does this help our chakra control?"

Vain laughed lightly, "It doesn't unfortunately, with the resources I have at my disposal in this training ground, anything I could have you do for chakra control is to advance. We could go to an area with water, but I would like to take a break with the chakra exercises, especially since I'm going to be teaching you three a Jutsu today."

"Really, what's it called," Ami asked excitedly."

"You'll see when the time comes. Now you three have an exercise to do. This one will help with your agility mostly, which is why I like it useful for Genin."

The three hours passed quickly and Vain had to show the girls how to do it more then once before they got the concept down. They had to admit that it did help them with their agility immensely and with some asking they managed to convince him the have one hour of agility training and the have that last hour as what ever he wanted to go over that day.

"So today I'll be talking about Seduction missions," Vain said as the girls got situated with their bento. They cringed as he said that he noticed. "Yes, not the most popular of topics but also the most misunderstood. The average misconception that female Genin and most other Kunoichi have about Seduction mission is that they have to have sex with their target. This simply isn't true. The purpose of a Seduction mission is to obtain information from a target by any means granted that you aren't caught. I have actually had the privilege of taking part in a Seduction mission."

Ai raised her hand, "I thought Seduction mission were only given to Kunoichi?"

Vain nodded, "And so they are. I joined in on it at the orders of the Hokage. You see he was...

(Flashback four years)

Vain read the paper over once over as he stood on a hill that looked over a small town.

"He wants me to keep an eye on a Kunoichi that he sent on a Seduction mission."

"That explains just why you summoned me here," said a white wolf that pressed up against Vain. She was a massive white wolf who's shoulders went up to Vain's sternum. Her entire eyes, much like the Hyuga, were pale teal and below both of them was a dark red triangle and above each of her eyes were two dark red lines, one was vertical from just above the middle corner, was about and inch long, and looked like a stretched crescent moon, the other line was place and inch away from the other line and at about a 45 degree turn, this one too was also about an inch.

"If you would Natsume," he raised a piece of cloth. "The note said that this has her sent on it."

Natsume gave the cloth a quick sniff and turned her head into the air. "Oh, a fine spot to find her scent, the wind is perfect."

Vain chuckled, "Only the best for you."

Natsume laughed lightly. Only a few moments passed before Natsume bolted toward the forest to the east of the town.

Vain pushed him self to catch up and when he finally did he leaped onto Natsume's back.

"I smell lust and fear," Natsume answered Vain's unasked question.

He nodded and lowered his head closer to her neck as she flew through the forest like a silent storm. It wasn't long before Natsume made a low growl and Vain slide off of her back and ran softly through the forest a little to the left of her. He didn't stop when he heard the cries of men and the furious growls of Natsume, but kept on his course. He was rewarded with a man running into his path and dealt with him quickly with a knife blade up through the roof of his mouth. Vain pulled the blade out quickly and rushed in the direction the man came from.  
Ahead he could make out a clearing and on the middle of it was Natsume, her jaws covered in blood. He could also make out a dark haired figure on the ground backing away form Natsume. He slowed down and with out noise made his way to the women he guessed was the Kunoichi.

"You know," he said as he walked up behind the women, "she's not going to hurt you." The Kunoichi jumped and turned quickly toward Vain, who noted her red eyes matched the description that the Hokage gave him. Vain raised his empty hands, "Don't worry, the Hokage sent me as your back up."

The Kunoichi looked at him suspiciously and said, "Forgive me if I don't believe you that easily."

Vain nodded and moved his cloak's hood just enough for the silver engraved Leaf symbol to appear on his pitch black Hunter-Nin mask. "Happy?"

The Kunoichi relaxed visibly and nodded. "Sorry, but after that... I'm not that trusting. My name is Kurenai Yuhi. Forgive me but why did the Hokage send a Hunter-Nin?"

"Shade and the wolf is Natsume, the Hokage asked for my assistance because I was in the area."

"Well that doesn't matter anymore," Kurenai said as she cast her face down, "I failed miserably."

Vain walked over to her and offered his hand, "A mission is only a failure if you give up on it."

Kurenai looked at the hand for a few seconds with out moving. She took it, "Right. Do you have any ideas on how to get the information, because the target knows what I look like, so it's not like I can seduce him."

"Your mission is to get the information right?" She nodded. "Then where does having to seduce him come in?"

"What do you mean?"

Vain walked over to Natsume and patted her on the back. "What does a good interrogator do, scare it out of him."

Kurenai looked thoughtful for a second and then smiled.

"I see you've thought of something," he said as he walked toward the forest. "Do you mission, we'll be watching until your three kilometers away from town, good luck."

(end flashback)

"... When I checked to see if she completed that mission, it said she did it and got more information then they thought possible." Vain had made sure that he never mentioned Kurenai's name during his story.

Ami was wide eyed. "You're my hero, Sensei."

"I'm glad you hold me in such regard." Ai raised her hand. "Ai, how many times have I told you that you can talk with out having permission?"

Ai looked down and said, "Sorry, I di-"

"And I've already told you not to apologize so much as well. Ai we a team and the second you joined this team you became part of my family. I don't like it when my family is so uncomfortable around me." Vain reached over and lifted her head. "Now, what did you want to say?"

Ai was silent for a few moments until she asked, "Why did you stay out of sight after helping the Kunoichi? Why didn't you help her more actively?"

"If I had she would have started to doubt her own abilities. By making her do it by herself, she not only proved to me but to herself that she could do it. Understand?"

Ai nodded.

"Good," Vain said as he stood up, "because I have to go meet with the Hokage." He pulled out the strategic training paper and rolled it out. "While I'm gone I want you three to come up with a reasonable plan for this situation." A genjutsu terrain appeared and soon the girls were engrossed in the planning process.

* * *

Satoshi Hyuga was bored and when he got bored his mind started to wonder. When his mind wondered it lead to girls and from there it went to having sex with girls. So, when Satoshi got bored he got horny. He grinned when he remembered all of the Branch Hyuga women that he had romped in his life. Of course some of the refused, but with the activation of the Caged Bird Seal, they would do any thing to get rid of the pain. Yes, Satoshi was one lucky guy, being born into the Hyuga clan as the grandson of one of its Council-members.

The only problem he had at the moment was that he could think of no Branch women that he wanted at the moment. No, he wanted someone fresh, someone new.  
Satoshi heard talking as he crossed a bridge on his walk and saw three girls talking over a scroll. He immediately recognized Ai. Bingo!

Satoshi waltzed over to the girls and as he got close they all looked up at him. He was surprised that each of them were lookers and figured that if he played his cards right he might try to get at the other two eventually. He smirked when Ai saw him and a look of dread and fear appeared on her face.

"Aww, little Ai-Chan, just the girl I was looking for."

The black haired girl stood up and asked, "Did you need something with Ai?"

The red head joined, "Yeah, because she doesn't look to happy to see you."

Satoshi grinned. "Of course she's happy to see me. It's not every day you get to please a Hyuga noble."

The red head got a look of disgust on her face. "Your disgusting. What makes you think that she will do anything with you?"

The black haired one moved over to stand in front of Ai. "I suggest you leave, Hyuga," she said with detectable loathing.

Satoshi frowned. "but if I do that then who will make sure that Ai here doesn't get hurt from some one using the Cage Bird Seal on her?"

Ami held Ai tighter as she started to tremble. "Cage Bird Seal, what's that?"

Satoshi got a manic grin on his face, "I'm happy you asked." He put his hands into a seal. "It's this." He applied a small amount of chakra and was rewarded with Ai crying out in pain.

Kitara pulled out a kunai and yelled, "Stop it, you hurting her!"

Satoshi stopped and put on a concerned face. "Well will you look at that. I guess she really has to come with me, unless you want me to hurt her more? Is that right Ai, do you want to be hurt more?"

Ai shook her head and slowly moved over to Satoshi, tears were running down her face.

"Kitara, we have to do something," Ami yelled as she looked between Ai and Satoshi.

"What can we do, Ami? If we stop her, he'll only hurt her more."

"We can't just let him take her!"

Satoshi grinned, he was going to enjoy using Ai until she was all used up and then he would come back for these two. It was so simple, threaten to use the Cage Bird Seal on Ai and they would do anything he told them to. It was all per- "What's going on here?" -shit.

Satoshi turned to the new comer while thinking of a story only for his mind to go blank. Of all the people, Vain Thanatos, the 'Last Traitor,' and Minato Namikaze, the Yondaime Hokage. "Ahh, Lord Hokage, how nice to see you."

"Girls, come over here," Vain said forcefully.

Kitara and Ami grabbed Ai and ran over to Vain as fast as they cold.

Vain leaned down asking, "Girls, what's going on here." They told him what was happening and Vain turned to Ai. He put his hand on he back as he said, "Don't worry Ai everything will be alright."

Minato looked at Satoshi. "Is what they said true?"

"I can assure you that it is nothing but lies," Satoshi said with grace.

"You're the one lying," yelled Ami.

"Ami, what have I told you about keeping calm," Vain said with a slight edge. he leaned down to the girls and whispered, "I'll handle this but all three of you have to be quite not matter what happens, understand?"

They nodded and he stood back up to face the Hyuga, placing himself in front of his team. "You'll have to forgive me if I don't believe you."

"Yes, but who are you going to believe Lord Hokage, three brats or me, a Hyuga noble?"

Minato looked down at the ground and said through clenched teeth, "I believe you, Satoshi Hyuga."

Vain shot his hand out behind him to stop any outcries from his team. He looked at Satoshi and said, "I, on the other hand, don't."

Satoshi raised an eyebrow and asked, "Just who will believe the word of the 'Last Traitor,' I wonder."

Vain took a step forward, "Leave it to a Hyuga to throw the first petty insult, but I guess that's just like you Hyuga. In your case, Satoshi, I wonder if your exaggerated ego is to compensate for something?"

Satoshi got an angry look. "Now who is the one throwing around petty insults." Satoshi bowed to Minato, "I'll hope you have a nice day, Lord Hokage." He started to walk away, until Vain made a remark that made him stop.

"Tell me, Satoshi, does is make you feel strong ordering girls to have sex with you? Does it make you feel like you're all powerful when those girls cry and tell you not to? Do you look down on them as you release yourself into them and think that they wanted it? Does it make you feel wanted when they orgasm because of your efforts?"

Satoshi got angrier with each question and by the end of it he was facing Vain, with only two feet separating them.

Vain leaned foreword and whispered, "Your pathetic."

It was with that comment that Satoshi broke and attacked. Satoshi went for a single Juken to the heart, to end it quickly. It took a moment for his mind to realize that he was dead because in the instant that Vain had to attack, he pulled out his right dagger and slammed it into Satoshi's left temple.

Vain put his left hand on Satoshi's neck and, sliding him off the dagger, slammed his dead body into the ground. He turned quickly and asked, "Minato did you see everything?"

Minato shook his head, "This is a nice mess you've made, Vain. Yeah, I saw everything. Did you plan that- never mind don't answer that."

Vain cut his thumb and after a few seals hit the ground saying, "Summoning Jutsu!"

A large poof of smoke appeared and out of it came a large white wolf. She looked around for a second and when she saw the Hyuga's dead body, she turned to Vain and said, "What did you do?"

"How did you know it was me?"

"Because you're the only one here crazy enough to kill a Hyuga noble by the looks of the body, but you're also the only one smart enough to pull it off legally. What did you need me to do?"

Vain gestured to Kitara, Ami, and Ai while saying, "Take them to my home and don't let them out of your sight when you get there." The girls in question started to complain but were silenced by Vain. "Girls, you have to let me handle this. Go with Natsume, she'll take you to my home. We'll talk when I get there." Soon the girls were all seated on Natsume and she ran off toward the Hokage mountain.

"Minato, can you call for a Council meeting before anyone else can?"

Minato made a hand movement and in an instant four ANBU appeared around him. "Turtle, take the body to the Council chambers. Rat, go and gather the Shinobi Council for an emergency meeting, if even they complain tell them they can bring their complaint to me personally. Neko, Raven, would you two please escort Vain Thanatos and I to the Council Chambers."

Turtle and Rat disappeared in puffs of smoke while Neko, Raven, Minato, and Vain disappeared, only to appear in the Council Chambers.

Minato looked at Vain and sighed, "I hate you some days."

* * *

I do understand that I have some typos in this and my previous chapters I'm going to fix them when I get to 20,000 words, Which will be the next chapter, you know if I keep this up I'll be at 100,000 words by chapter 40. Food for thought.  
Until next time-Judgment


	6. Chapter 6

Hello, every one, I'm really excited today, this story has now passed the 20,000 word mark. Yeah!  
The only thing that would make this better is if people were giving me OCs to put into the story, oh well, can't hope for mericals.  
Let's see, today we have a little bit of a Personality change in one of the girls and Vain gets to deal with the council, this is not a council bash... so sad :'(

Well, enjoy...

* * *

Natsume ran through the forest as fast as she dared with her cargo on her back. She knew why Vain wanted these girls away from the village and safely under her watch, he feared retribution. It was only a matter of time before it got out the he killed a Hyuga noble and the stories started. Some would paint the Hyuga as the wrong doers, but most would have Vain as the criminal. With their hate for him already high, this would put not just him, but his students in harms way. Natsume growled as she thought about all of the would-be assassins that would die tonight.

Natsume shivered when she felt herself pass the Genjutsu and seal barrier that surrounded Vain's land. "What was that?" shouted Kitara over the rushing wind.

"We just passed the barrier that keeps people out of Vain's land," Natsume answered. They arrived at Vain home shortly after the barrier and Natsume helped the girls get off her back as best she could. She looked at the girls, "Alright, Vain left me in charge so let's go inside and settle down."

Ami looked at Natsume and then the door. "Umm, how are you going to-" she asked until Natsume glowed a bright blue. When the glow diminished a young women stood in the place the wolf was earlier. She had wild white hair with feathers and beads in it in no particular pattern. Her eyes looked exactly like Natsume's; she even had the red marks in all the same places. Her clothing were all made of furs: her shirt covered only to below her medium sized bust and the sleeves extended down to her wrists, her pants where skin tight and extended to her ankles, and on her feet she wore leather moccasins. "-never mind."

The women pouted somewhat, "I was hoping for more of a reaction then that. At least it was better then Vain's."

"How did he react?" asked Kitara as she and Ai walked into the house after Natsume and Ami.

"He just looked at me and then back to what he was doing. I still haven't gotten back at him for that."

"But he didn't do anything."

"Exactly," Natsume said as she moved her hands down her body, "how can you not love this?" She went over to the couch that sat to the left of the front door. After sitting down she looked at each of the girls in turn, they each had a down cast expression and Natsume knew exactly what it was from. "Don't feel useless."

"But there was nothing we could do," Ami said as she sniffed a little. "We didn't want him to take her but we couldn't do anything."

Kitara took up after Ami. "Vain-Sensei said that we should make our own decisions and that we should anything in our power to stop thing that we disagree with from happening, but Ami's right, we couldn't do anything."

Ai spoke softly, "Vain-Sensei always tells us that we do a good job and he never looses patience with me, even when I do something wrong. I feel like I failed him by not being able to do anything, that all of his training was wasted on me."

"ENOUGH," barked Natsume, "Kitara, Ami, you two are right in saying that there was nothing you could do. If you tried anything then that man would have hurt Ai, but did ether of you think of trying to find Vain and get his help? Just because you can't do anything doesn't mean that others can't. I know that you three were in a stressful situation and neither I, nor Vain, expects you to react well to it. You all have only been out of the academy for two weeks, you reacted about how I imagined, you blanked. Vain may be able to pull off stupid stuff but you three can't, yet. It turned out fine, so just breath and learn what you can from the situation."

Ami cut in, "But what if Vain-Sensei hadn't come?"

"Never think in what ifs. It didn't happen so forget about it, that's the best advice I can give you and before you say something stupid like your not supposed to rely on him or something to that extent, he's your Sensei. You're supposed to rely on him. Ai, if Vain didn't want to teach you three then he wouldn't be. I remember when Vain brought up the topic of teaching and how much he didn't want to, but when he saw you three's reports he changed his mind. He is teaching you three because he wants to and he knows that it wont be wasted. Has he ever done anything to make you think that he was wasted his time with you, Ai."

She shook her head.

"You three must look up to Vain a lot if your this riled up about this?" Natsume asked.

Ai nodded. "He always has a kind word to say."

Ami grinned. "He always has a tip or hint to give when we run into problems."

Kitara smiled. "He's always there for us. He gave us a family when we had none why wouldn't we want to make him proud of us?" The other two nodded their heads in agreement.

"And you think that he hasn't gotten anything off of have you girls as a team? He to got the family he never had."

"What do you mean?" asked Ami.

"Does this have anything to do with that Hyuga calling Vain-Sensei, the 'Last Traitor?'" asked Kitara.

Natsume nodded. "You three know the story already."

"We do?" Ami asked with a questioning face."Yes, Vain is the last of the Kamikanto, the clan that betrayed Konoha."

* * *

"Lord Hokage, if you would please tell us why the council is gathered maybe we could get on with matters," said Hiashi Hyuga, the Hyuga clan head.

"Be patient Hyuga, this is an emergency meeting, allow the Hokage to gather his thoughts," said a feral looking woman, Tsume Inuzuka, the Inuzuka clan head.

Minato nodded. "I'm hesitant to begin because I called this meeting because of the... untimely death of Satoshi Hyuga, a Hyuga clan noble."

"How did he die?" asked Hiashi.

Minato paused. "He was killed."

"And his murderer?"

Minato nodded and motioned with his hand. The doors opened...

* * *

Vain stared at the masked ANBU for a few seconds before leaning his back against the wall. "You know, Itachi, I haven't heard much of the Uchiha these days, has Fugaku finally gotten over the Kamikanto incident?"

Itachi, Raven, shook his head, "I'm afraid that he hates you as much as before, my guess it that he finally has relived that it is futile to try to kill you because of your close friendship to the current Hokage."

"Didn't think something like that would stop him."

"He can be an excitable man at times. How have you been Vain, haven't seen much of you lately?"

"Been good, then I killed a Hyuga, but I guess I can't complain." Vain looked at the doors. "Looks like I'm on see you around Itachi and do try to keep that stick out of your ass unlike the rest of your clan."

Vain walked into the council chambers with a poker face on, his eyes didn't even move from Minato's spot when Hiashi Hyuga spoke, "Vain Thanatos is the killer, I should have known that he would follow in his family's steps." As Hiashi spoke, Vain cold hear the rest of the Council quietly speaking.

Minato stood up and all noise stopped. "Vain Thanatos, you are charged with killing a Hyuga noble, how do you defend your actions?"

"Self defense, Lord Hokage."

"Are you sure it was or did you decide to finally show your true colors?" asked Fugaku Uchiha, the Uchiha clan head.

"The man was going to perform a juken to my heart and while it may please this council to hear of my death, I'm afraid that I had to defend my self," answered Vain.

"What makes you think that this council would be pleased with your death?" asked Tsume.

"I would like to know as well," added Choza Akimichi, the Akimichi clan head.

Vain looked over at them and answered, "It is no secret that many on this council want my head on a platter and that the rest don't care. I just group you all together because, to me, your all the same."

Minato cleared his throat and when all attention was back on him he asked, "Vain can you please tell us what happened."

Vain nodded. "I had just returned to the training ground that my Genin team was using when I saw Satoshi Hyuga bothering my team. "

"How did you know he was bothering them?" asked Shikaku Nara, the Nara clan head.

"Their faces showed distress and fear."

Shikaku nodded and laid his head back down on the table.

"I proceeded to find out what was going on and my students told me that Satoshi was using a Caged Bird Seal to hurt Ai. Apparently he wanted to have sex with young Ai."

"Why is there a Cage Bird Seal on Ai, Hiashi Hyuga? I thought she couldn't ever use the Byakugan."

Hiashi answered, "It was placed on her by the Hyuga council because she was the child of a Council-member."

Minato nodded and waved for Vain to continue.

"Satoshi started to leave with my appearance but before he could we exchanged words. He grew angry and attacked me."

"It sounds to me like you might have provoked him," said Inoichi Yamanaka, the Yanamaka clan head.

"We exchanged insults, mine must have stung more."

"So, you did provoke him to attack you," said Shibi Aburame, the Aburame clan head.

"No, I had thought that Satoshi would have simple walked away, not attack me."

"Satoshi was listed as a Chunin, you're a Jonin, with Hunter-Nin experience, you could have incapacitated him," continued Shibi.

"I have been in many life or death situations, my first instinct was to defend myself. The best way to do that was to kill my opponent."

"Reflex?"

Vain nodded.

"We have had a couple cases of this happening when prisoners attack the Shinobi that is transporting them," said Minato.

"Are there any witnesses?" asked Shikaku.

Minato nodded, "Yes."

"Then we would like to know who," a voice said as the doors opened to reveal Danzo and the rest of the Civilian council.

"I don't recall asking for the Civilian council's presence for this meeting," Minato said.

Danzo bowed slightly, "I apologize for the intrusion but the Civilian council has a right to hear this case due to the person involved in it."

Minato nodded stiffly and soon the Civilian Council was seated on their side of the chambers.

"First," Danzo said," I would like to extend my sorrow to the Hyuga clan about this terrible loss."

"Just get on with it, Danzo," called out Tsume.

Danzo flashed a glare at her before he continued. "We of the Civilian Council feel that Vain Kamikanto should be forced to part with his clan jutsu as a secondary punishment. As a primary punishment, we believe that Vain should become a Shinobi of the Council, doing any mission that we see fit, no matter the danger."

"What about his witness and defense of self-defense?" asked Inoichi.

"The witness is probably some scum that he paid to say that it was self-defense, I can provide several witnesses to say the opposite," remarked Danzo.

"I'm glad you think so highly of you Hokage, Danzo," Minato said with a heavy glare, "I'm the witness." Danzo's eyes widened. "If you don't mind, I would like to see these witnesses that would say their Hokage is a liar."'

"I meant that statement as a similarity to my previous statement."

Minato nodded, "Under the plea of self-defense I find Vain not guilty, I apologize for the time this meeting has taken. Is there anything else?"

Vain spoke, "Yes, I have one more thing to say to Hiashi Hyuga."

Minato looked over to Hiashi, who nodded, and said, "You may speak, Vain."

"I'm telling you before you find out from other sources, I'm removing the Caged Bird Seal from Ai."

"You can't-"

"I can due to Clan Law 47, Ai is no longer applies under your laws. I have every right to remove it. I'm just telling you this because if any Hyuga try to hurt her, kill her, or force a new seal on her, I'll end that Hyuga's life and take my pound of flesh from the Hyuga clan."

Hiashi nodded. "If any Hyuga try any of this they will do so against my orders and you would do well to not threaten me."

"Not a threat, a promise," Vain said as he disappeared and a black cloud.

* * *

"You look worried, Hiashi, is everything all right?" asked Ariana, Hiashi wife.

"I'm afraid this Council will destroy this clan," answered Hiashi as he laid his head onto his wife's lap.

"Why would you think that?"

Hiashi sighed, "Because they think that their poking a defenseless cub with out knowing that a full grown bear is behind them."

"Are you talking about Vain?"

"Yes," Hiashi said as he moved his head into the hands of his wife that rubbed his temples. "He's a strong Shinobi and I owe him more then most would ever imagine."

"What do you mean?"

"That boy saved Hinata's life when she was being kidnapped all of thoughs years ago."

"That was him, I had thought that it was the ANBU that caught the kidnapper?"

Hiashi shock his head, "No, it was Vain and because of that incident and his testimony against Cloud he is hated by all Cloud-Nin. He also saved Hizashi's life by going to Cloud and putting a stop to the compensation demands."

"How did he do that?"

"Don't know. He never told anyone."

Ariana nodded and looked out over the garden. "He sounds like a good man."

Hiashi nodded, "He is."

* * *

Natsume looked up form the book she was reading when the front door opened. "About time your back, Vain. How did it go?"

"About as well as I thought it would," Vain said as he walked over to the couch and fell into it.

"So swimmingly?"

"Yep. How are the girls?"

Natsume yawned as she stood up from the couch, she stretched her arms while saying, "They're in the back. I talked to them about it and they seemed to have calmed down. You should still talk to them though."

Vain nodded and walked out the door.

* * *

Vain found the girls talking in the middle of his herb garden. The garden had five layers, each layer going down about two feet. it was walled beautifully and right through the middle was a river. The girls were talking on the bridge.

Vain didn't make a sound until he was four steps away from them and said, "What have I said about being aware of your surroundings?"

The girls all jumped and, when they saw that it was Vain, rushed over to him. Vain smiled as he hugged the girls in a somewhat group hug.

"Did you miss me?"

"Why would we do that? You had everything under control," said Ami with a smile.

"Well thanks for the care," remarked Vain sarcastically. "Ai I have something for you."

Ai perked up and said, "What is it?"

Vain stood still for a moment, then pointed at her while looking at the other two girls, and said, "Did she just-"

"Yes, she did," answered Kitara.

Ai nodded. "I'm going to change for the better."

Vain smiled and crouched down to look Ai in the eyes. "Well then, you'll really like this gift," he said as he put his right hand on her head. At his touch the Cage Bird Seal appeared, "Sealing Style: Freedom to the Caged Bird." The seal on Ai's forehead glowed once and then disappeared, never to return.

Ai teared up and buried her head into Vain's chest, "Thank you Vain-Sensei."

"Don't think you girls have gotten out of today scott-free, tomorrow is when you three will have to make up for today's loss of training."

Vain, Kitara, and Ai laughed when Ami shouted, "You truly are evil!"

Vain looked into the sky with a smile. He was truly blessed to have this team.

* * *

It's done. Fantastic. Next chapter will be a bit more training and depending if I get any added OC in the next week something else might get started. I'm so close to the Wave Ark I can just smell it, Speaking of which should I

A) kill Zabuza

B) keep him alive and have him return to Mizu

C) have him come to Konoha

and about Haku

D) kill her/him

E) Have her/him return to mivu with Zabuza

F) go to Konoha

G) be a boy

H) be a girl

Your choice, tell me in the review and if I can figure out how to do a voting thing do that instead.  
See you next time-Judgment


	7. Chapter 7

I know I said that I was going to slow down on the updates but I'm in a great mood, even though testing week is coming up. EVIL! This time the girls get some extra special training and go out to the town. All submitted OC's are in this chapter for a short time and will be a main focus in the next chapter.

**People who are reading this Fan-fic. I NEED three to five OCs to be the Missing-Nin from any villages(except Leaf). They will not die or be evil, I just need them for plot development. So, if yo read this fic, submit some OC's unless you already have, I would like to keep it to 1 OC or 1 team of OC per person. On my Profile I'll have a complet form to fill out, just submit it to me in a PM or in a review.**

_"Punch"_- Specific taijutsu tech. or thoughts

**"Jutsu Style: The most awsome of all awsome jutsu due to it's manlyness!"**- Ninjutsu

* * *

The forest was covered in a light mist that sent a chill down Vain's back. He didn't mind the cold, as he watched the sun rise to greet a new day. After talking to Natsume for a little while last night and Vain had decided to give the girls an early break, but when he had said that he was going to make up for the lost training he meant it. Natsume was the one that convinced him to let the girls have the day off, sorta. The feeling stayed with him from when Natsume told him that the girls didn't need to train as fast and as hard as he did when he was their age. He remembered all the sleepless nights he had spent in his child hold, all of the beatings he suffer- he shook his head to get off that train of thought. Those times were in the past, no use pondering on them now.

Vain glance back at the back door of his home when he heard it open. Kitara was out first, then AI, and finally Ami, who looked like she was dead on her feet. "I trust you three had a good nights sleep?"

Kitara nodded as she said, "I slept... great, actually."

"As did I," agreed Ai.

"Still sleeping," muttered Ami as she sat down on the grass.

Vain smiled. "While Ami has the right idea. Sit down girls; we're doing something a bit differently today then normal." Vain unsealed a strategic training roll and it was soon spread out in front of him and the girls. "Can any one tell me what's new on this scroll?"

The girls looked at the scroll for a few seconds until Ami, of all people, said, "Hey, what's with these weird seals on the corner of the paper?"

"Very good you noticed. Those seals are very special and to show you what they do I want each of you to get to a different corner." They did as they were told and soon Ami sat directly across from Vain, to her right was Ai, and to her left was Kitara. "Now, put you right hand onto the seal, close your eyes, and then channel some chakra. Don't open you eyes until I tell you."

They each did so and after what felt like a few minutes he gave them permission to open their eyes. When they did they were met with an entirely different forest then they started in.

"What just happened?" asked Ami as she looked around. Everything was different but what really put the girls on edge was the fact that Vain's house and the tactics roll was nowhere to be seen.

"Stay calm girls, we're inside a sealed powered genjutsu right now."

"You mean like the normal tactics roll, but we're in it this time," Ai said as she took in the surrounding terrain.

"That's exactly right, Ai. All you see here is just a figment of our imagination, a genjutsu. You can run for miles here and you won't even move from your spot in the real world. This is you new training that will take the place of your tactics time. This is by far the closest you can get to a combat situation without being in a combat situation, but don't let that knowledge drop your guard; you can still feel pain here. Now," Vain said as he sat down and took out a kunai, "this is the situation." He made an X and pointed to it, "This is us, we are three Genin and one Jonin." He made and O to the north of the X, a triangle to the south, and square to the north west, "These are our enemies." He pointed to the O, "There are two Chunin here," he pointed to the triangle, "three Jonin here," he pointed to the square, "and finally, four typical Genin here. All of these Shinobi are unaware of our presence, but there is a problem-," when he said that the girls all heard heavy breathing. When they looked they say a black haired man wearing standard Jonin attire lying on his back, his face was pale and was wet with sweat. "-we have a Jonin level teammate who is badly poisoned. What do we do?"

"They never taught us to treat poison in the Academy," said Ami as she went over the man and helped him sip some water.

Kitara took out some medical bandages and, after rolling up a wad, dabbed the man's forehead and face. "He doesn't have a lot of time. Any ideas?"

"This would be easy if we had some one that could treat poisons," Ami muttered.

Ai looked up from her thinking at that. "Vain-Sensei."

"Yes, Ai?"

"Can you treat poisons?"

Vain smiled, "Yes, I can." He got up and quickly assessed what poison it was and gave to Jonin a counter to it. "There, if he doesn't move too much he'll live."

"How were we supposed to know that you could do that?" asked Ami.

"That is one of the listens you're learning today. When you're in a real life situation you don't hesitate when it comes to asking for help, it's not weak, it's smart. Now then girls, we still have some enemy Shinobi to deal with."

"Right, we should attack the Genin first," said Ami.

"No, we should take down the Jonin first, then concentrate on the rest," Kitara said as she sat down next to the drawing.

Ai looked at Vain, "Vain-Sensei, who far apart are these two groups." She pointed at the O and the square.

"About half a kilo."

Ai nodded, "We should attack the two Chunin."

"What are you thinking, Ai?" asked Ami as Kitara listened attentively. Over the course of the two weeks the girls had been together Ami and Kitara learned that Ai never planned something that didn't work.

"We should attack the Chunin because there are only two of them. Vain-Sensei can take one down, while we work together to take down the other one. By the time we're done the Genin will almost be upon us, but so will the Jonin. Vain-Sensei, do you think you can handle two Jonin at once?"

"It's not a matter of can I in this case but I have to. This is another thing that you three will have to do at least once in your lives and that's order some one into a situation that they might not come back from."

Ai stared at him for a few seconds and then said, "Vain-Sensei, you will handle the Jonin while Ami, Kitara, and I deal with the Genin."

"Sounds like a plan," Vain said as he rose from the ground.

"You had better not die Vain-Sensei, I don't know if I could handle it, even if it's an illusion," Kitara said.

"Then we'll just have to beat the Genin fast and come to his rescue," Ami said with a fire in her eyes.

Vain chuckled. "Team eleven moving out. I'm point, Kitara and Ami sides, Ai back." Vain leapt into the forest follow closely by his team. It was this moment that the girls were happy for the extra hour Vain set aside for anything he wanted to work on, because they had been using it constantly on tree jumping, which was actually harder then it looked.

As they neared Vain signaled fro them to break off to the right while he went left. When Vain got to a position to the west of the Chunin he counted to 30 and then attacked.

* * *

Ami, Kitara, and Ai watched the Chunin carefully from their position to the east of them. The tensed when Vain shot out of the forest and went straight to one of the Chunin. It was clear that he was going to be the victory of his fight and the girls rushed their target when they saw him prepare to attack Vain from behind.

Kitara rushed in straight while Ai and Ami broke to the left and right respectively. She threw three kunai only for the Chunin to deflect them with a kunai and then whip it at her. Kitara dropped and slide on her feet. She then jumped up into the air and preformed a back heel spin kick, "_Leaping Wolf!"_

The Chunin caught her heel and stabbed a Kunai at her only to be stopped by Ami who swiped down on his arm with a clawed hand, "_Wolf Claws!"_

Ai ran in from the back and, with a kunai in hand, jumped up and stabbed him in the neck, "_Pack Take Down!"_

"Pack Take Down? I don't remember teaching you anything like that."

They turned their head to see Vain walking over to them, no worse for wear.

"We thought it up after training one day," Kitara said, a prideful smirk on her and the other girls faces.

Vain nodded, "Good job. Now be ready."

As soon as he said that four Genin jumped out of the forest. Before Vain could take one down, the two Jonin appeared and Vain found himself pleasantly busy. _I could handle these guys quickly but I want to see how the girls do._

Kitara rushed the Genin to the farthest right while Ami and Ai took on the other three. They had decided that Kitara should try to take one down as fast as possible since she was the best at the Wolf Paw; she only hoped she could do it. She struck the Genin in the chest quickly and, as the Genin staggered back, she spun quickly to the right and back chopped the poor sap in the neck with her left hand. The Genin went down, never to rise again. _That was, easy._

She turned to see that both Ai and Ami were doing fine. Ami had just done a kick to her opponent knee, breaking the joint. Ai held back the other two Genin with quick strikes, blocks, and dodges.

_They're teaming up on Ai because they thing she is the weakest. _Kitara thought. She rushed to Ai's aid and flew into a one of the Genin with a heel drop on to the Genin's skull. The last Genin between Ai and Kitara dropped to his knees when he saw Ami jab kunai into his fellow Genin's chest, right where the heart was.

"Please," he pleaded, "don't kill me. I'll leave; I'll quit being a Ninja. I only did it because I thought it was cool. Please!" His forehead was on the ground and tear were streaming from his eyes.

Ami looked at Ai and Kitara and after nods all around she said, "We'll leave you for our Jonin-Sensei to deal with."

"Oh, thank you," he said before a cruel grin crept onto his face," suckers. **Lightning style: Electric Net**."

The second the Genin activated the Jutsu the girls entered a world of pain with electricity coursing through their bodies. They were effectively paralyzed as the each fell to the ground.

The Genin stood up while grinning even wider. "With that jutsu you three will be paralyzed for at least a few hours. I've got to give it to you three, you're pretty good for Genin but your too soft. Now which one will I have first," he said as he licked his lips. "Why not you," he started to walk over to Kitara. "I have this thing for making strong girls cry." He walked over to Kitara slowly.

Kitara closed her eyes when the Genin started to reach out but opened them in surprise when she heard him start to gurgle. She was shocked to see a kunai protruding form his throat. He fell dead to the side of her and she saw Ai panting heavily perched up on her left arm; her right was extended from the throw of the kunai.

Ai collapsed back and soon silence dominated the forest. Suddenly, Ami started to laugh little and slow the other two joined in. Eventually the clearing was filled by laughing from the three girls.

This was the scene that Vain walked into when he entered the clearing. "Did I miss something?"

"Nope, we're just enjoying life, Sensei," Ami said as she slowly stopped laughing.

"Alright," he said and suddenly they were all sitting around the tactical paper. "For your first time in a combat situation you three did well. None of you hesitated to go for the kill; I guess you three really do listen when I lecture."

"Yeah, we kicked total butt," shouted Ami as she jumped into the air.

"Yeah, I though you said that we wouldn't catch up to other Genin until after another month of training?" asked Kitara.

Vain nodded, "And I meant what I said but don't let this victory go to you heads girls. The reason you did so well is because most Genin just want to learn new Ninjutsu. Their Jonin-Sensei, not wanting to disappoint their team, teach them new Ninjutsu and soon that's all their teaching them. The big problem with that is that their Genin become to dependent on Ninjutsu and their other skills slowly rot. I'm sure you girls have noticed that I have focused on beginner things more then most people ever do. That's because I believe you should have a strong foundation before you teach your students anything. A good example is your Taijutsu, I first made you master the Academy style, this gave you a base to learn off of and examples to look back to, I also made you girls work your bodies out, this was essential because it gave you the physical capabilities to perform the Wolf Paw. Just because you can learn something doesn't mean you're ready to learn it. You beat thous Genin because you had a stronger base then them in everything and you beat the Chunin because he underestimated each of you because of your rank. One more theng, just because a Nin says their giving up doesn't mean that they are telling the truth. If you're ever in that type of siuation you should knock-out the enemy Nin and wait for orders." Vain stood up. "It's about 8:00 am; the rest of the day is for your entertainment."

"Entertainment?" asked Ami.

"I mean, you three have the rest of the day off."

* * *

"Vain-Sensei," Kitara said as he lead her, Ami, and Ai into town from his home," I was wondering if I could spend the night tonight?"

Vain cocked and eyebrow, "What made you ask that?"

Kitara blushed a little and muttered quickly, "Ifeelsaferwithyouaround!"

"What?" Vain said; you could almost make out a question mark rising from his head.

Kitara took a deep breath, let is out, and said, "I feel safer with you around."

"Easier to go to sleep?" Vain asked.

Kitara nodded.

"Hey, if she's staying then I am too," Ami said.

"Oh, and what's your reason?" Vain asked.

"The breakfast was delicious."

"Fair enough, and you Ai, will you be staying at my home tonight?"

"The air is much fresher at you home. So, yes, I will be staying the night."

Vain shook his head with a smile on his face as they exited the forest over the Hokage Mountain. "Okay, we've made it to the village, you three remember the way?" They nodded. "Alright, then this is where I leave you, see you girls at home." He disappeared in a black cloud.

"So, what do you two want to do?" Ami asked.

"Food, then we should go shopping. Since Vain-Sensei has been paying us the same amount every day to make up for missing the D-rank mission pay I have some spending money," Kitara said.

"I agree, but where should we eat?"

"There's this dango shop that I've heard good news about," Ami suggested.

Kitara shrugged, "Why not."

* * *

Team eight, consisting of Kiba, Hinata, Shino, and Kurenai, were eating breakfast in their usual place, The Dango Shop. They always ate there and today was no exception. They always sat at a circle table Kiba always sat to the right of Hinata, Shino to her left, Kurenai sat across from them, and Anko Mitarashi sat to the exact left of her. (you all know what Anko looks like). Kiba looked over from the team's conversation just as Team Eleven entered the restaurant. Before they could even think of picking a spot, Kiba stood up and called out while waving his hand, "Over here!"

Ami waved back and, after speaking quickly with both Ai and Kitara, walked over with the other two in tow.

Kurenai looked at the girls and smiled pleasantly, "You're the girls from Team Eleven."

"And you're Kurenai Yuhi, Jonin-Sensei of Team Eight. Nice to meet you," Ai greeted. "Do you mind if we sit with you and your team?"

"I don't mind at all."

After the girls were seated Anko spoke up, "Who are these princesses?"

"Anko, manners," rebuked Kurenai. "This is Ai, Ami, and Kitara. They are the Genin of Team Eleven; their Jonin-Sensei is Vain Thanatos."

Anko whistled. "Most be tough being taught by the Last Traitor."

"Never call him that again," Kitara said heatedly. Anko looked over the see all three of the girls glaring at her furiously.

"Ahh, are the Traitor's students defending him," Anko said slyly. "Do you know what clan he's from?"

"He was part of the Kamikanto, he forsook his name and changed it to Thanatos the day after the betrayal," Ai said with noticeable anger.

"Anko, that's enough," Kurenai said forcefully. "I apologize girls, Anko doesn't believe Vain is a traitor, she just doesn't like anyone that was from the Kamikanto clan."

Anko humphed and bit off a dango ball.

"Vain-Sensei told us that we should only judge someone from past actions that have been proven true, not on rumors, lies, and exaggerations," Ai said, still somewhat glaring at Anko.

"Ummm," Hinata said quietly, "maybe we can talk about a different subject?"

"Yeah, lets talk about missions or something, Kurenai-Sensei, can you tell us about a mission you've been on," Kiba said.

"Sure, if you girls don't mind?" Kurenai asked Team Eleven.

They shook their heads and soon Kurenai was spinning a tale of a mission that she had been on. When she got to a point in the story when it seemed that her team was in a hopeless situation she said, "We wanted to give up but I remembered something very important that some one who save my life told me."

"What did they tell you?" Hinata asked with curiosity.

"'A mission is only a failure if you give up on it.'"  
"Who told you that," Anko asked as she slowly ate another dango, savoring the taste.

"I never found out his real name. He was a Hunter-Nin that was asked by the Hokage to assist me during a mission I was on. He called himself Shade, he had a large wolf with him but it's name has slipped my mind."

The group talked more about random things and the girls slowly started to like Anko, only a little though. She was brash, rude, and as strong as any Shinobi out there, she was truly a Kunoichi to look up to. The girls were hesitant to arrange a meeting with Vain and Anko and settled with asking to see if he wanted to meet her, when they 'remembered' to ask. After leaving the Restaurant and saying good-bye to Team Eight, the girls decided to go shopping.

Since the market was always busy at this time, they decided to go to the shops that were considered, out of the way, first. As they passed the Main Gate they looked over when they heard of cry of, "Stop that Daisuke!"

The girl that yelled had a red banded hitae-ate on her forehead, matching perfectly with her scarlet hair and eyes. She wore a scarlet vest like shirt that had three black bands holding it on in the front at equal distances from each other, the sleeves went down to her wrists. Her scarlet pants extended down to mid-calf with her kunai pouch secured on her right thigh. She wad standard Shinobi sandals. She was thin but had the markings of some muscles on her. (Much like Tenten's attire but with long sleeves and scarlet)

The boy she yelled at looked at her with a prankster like grin. He wore a maroon jumpsuit with gold strips coming up the side and baby blue sandals. His black hair and eyes were accented by the baby blue hitae-ate he wore on his forehead. He turned around to talk to the other girl when the girls saw the kanji for laugh on the back of his shirt along with a sword that had a detailed symbol of a seven tailed badger on it.

"Mai, when is Lutii-Sensei going to get here?" he asked the only other girl standing near him.

Mai, as the boy Daisuke called her, wore a tight black Shinobi jumpsuit, which hugged her undeveloped but skinny body tightly. The only accessories that she had was her kunai pouch on her right leg and her black banded hitae-ate around her waist. Her long white hair was pulled back into a ponytail that went down to just below her butt.

"For the third time, '." she said calmly but the underline threat could still be heard.

Daisuke opened his mouth but before he could speak a poof of smoke, leaves, and snow announced the arrival of a new figure. The man that appeared was rubbing his right temple lightly while saying, "The Hokage knows just how to annoy a guy." He had black hair and deep purple eyes that seemed almost hypnotic. His body was lanky and thin but didn't belie the power that he held under his command and the scars the crossed his cheek and went through his eyebrow added a rugged appearance to his handsome face. He wore a black jacket that he had open showing the white button up shirt he had on underneath,black Shinobi pants that went down to his black combat sandals, and his kunai pouch was placed on his right thigh. Poking out the side from the small of his back was the hilt to a Ninjato that he had strapped there. He looked at the kids: Daisuke, Mai, and Sora, and asked, "You guys Lutii's team?"

Mai nodded.

"I'm your replacement Sensei for this mission. My name is Maru, any questions?"

Daisuke raised his hand while asking, "Where's Lutii-Sensei?"

"He got called onto a mission. Questions over?" They nodded. "Good. You guys already know the mission?" They nodded again. "Even better. I'll lead." He ran off and jumped into the forest when he finished talking with his temporary team close behind.

"I wish we could leave the village for a mission," Ami said as she, Kitara, and Ai started to walk again.

"It's going to be a little while before that happens," Ai returned. They spent much of the day shopping and sooner then they thought found themselves back at Vain home.

* * *

Vain walked up to the large two story building with a casual stride. He walked up to the door and, with out knocking, opened it and walked in. He smelt something cooking in the kitchen to his left and took in the comfortable living room that the front door opened up to.

"There's only one person I know in this village that so casually walks into the Hokage's home, it's nice to see you Vain," called a voice from the kitchen.

Vain smiled as he walked in and saw a long red haired women stirring a pot of stew. Her violet eyes held great laughter and beauty, her skin was fair, she was truly beautiful. "It's nice to see you too, Kushina. How have you been since I last saw you?"

"I've been fine. I'm a little worried about Naruto but I knew he was going to be a Shinobi the second he was born."

"He has you as his mother and that lazy bastard at the table there as a father," he said as he pointed over his shoulder at Minato that was sitting at a bar-like table that faced the kitchen.

"I heard that!" Minato yelled.

Vain leaned in and whispered in Kushina's ear, "At least he's not deaf."

Kushina started to laugh lightly and said, "Be nice."

"Only because you asked," Vain said as he went around the bar and sat next to Minato. He looked at Minato and asked, "Do I have something on my face?"

Minato's eye brow twitched, "What did you say?"

"Something about the weather being nice."

"I don't believe you."

"The stew smells good?"

"Still don't."

"The sky's blue?"

Minato stared at Vain.

"I hate you."

"Now I believe you," Minato said happily.

"Both of you stop it," Kushina said from her place at the stove.

Minato bowed his head. "Yes, dear."

Vain stared to laugh until he saw Kushina turn around with a wooden spoon in her hand. He bowed his head as well and whispered to Minato, "Your wife is crazy."

A snap was heard and the next thing Vain knew he was in the ground holding his head. "That was for calling me crazy," another snap and Minato joined Vain on the floor, "and that was for agreeing with him."

"But I didn't say anything," Minato said with a whine.

"You thought it. Now get up you two, what would people think if they saw two of our strongest Shinobi, one of them the Hokage, rolling on the floor while holding their heads."

"Probably laugh," Vain said as he sat down at the bar.

Kushina shook her head and went back to the stove.

"Vain," Minato said," since you're here I might as well tell you, I'm sending you on a mission tomorrow."

"Details."

"Don't know for certain. It seems that some Missing-Nin were seen in the area around the city of Tokagokai."

"That's to the south of here, could have come by boat."

"Doesn't matter, your mission is the find and execute these Nin."

"You've got nothing else to give me?"

"Umm, good luck?"

Vain dropped his head. As he raised it back up he said, "Then you own me a favor."

"Name it."

"I'm going to start training my team in elemental manipulation," Vain said.

"I'll find a Sensei for them."

"I already have someone in mind."

"Who?"

"You."

"Me."

"Yes."

"Can't."

"Can too."

"I'm the Hokage."

"All you do is sit on your ass and read documents all day."

"A fine point, fine I'll do it."

Kushina spoke up, "But who is going to run the village when you training Vain's team?"

"You mean read documents?

"Yes."

"Not me."

"But your the Hokage you have to."

"That's why it's such a great idea," Minato answered with a grin.

"You two are unbelievable," Kushina said as she set the stew on the table and sat down.

Vain looked around, "Where's Naruto?"

"Late training with his team and Kakashi," Minato answered.

"Ahh."

Vain spent another hour talking to Minato and Kushina until he had to leave. As he was half way down the path to the road when he heard Kushina run up behind him. He turned saying, "Needed something, Kushina?"

"I just wanted to thank you, again, for saving my husband's life and-"

"Kushina, we talked about this already," Vain interrupted with a smile. "You're welcome, so stop thanking me. Bye." A cloud of black smoke signaled his disappearance.

Kushina sighed and looked to the starry sky, "No matter how many times you say you're welcome, I'll always say thank you, Vain."

* * *

Vain walked into his house to find cloths all about his living room. "Girls, what's with the cloths?" Ai, Kitara, Ami ran into the room from the kitchen and started to clean up the cloths. Vain chuckled as he said, "You have your own rooms, put them there."

Ami looked up, "Our own rooms?"

Vain nodded, "As long as you want them. Now clean, I have a few things to tell you three tonight."

* * *

Great, done. The poll is still on from last chapter and will be on up until the actual Wave Ark. I was thinking and the best way to descride Haku is this... He looka like a girl.

I had all of this important stuff to say and now I can't think of any, so damn.  
Maru is owned by Med-Jai ferret  
Daisuke, Sora, and Mai are owned by sco23

See you all next time  
-Judgment  
P.S.- **Post an OC right now!... Thank you.**


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Sweet I finally finished this chapter. To all of those who have submitted OC's most of them are in this chapter. But I do have one person to talk to specificly.

Med-Jai ferret - I know that your OC is shy, I've not forgotten that but do remember that in this chapter Maru is around two of his best friends, I think that justifies him being a little more talkative.

Now, I do have something else to say and it deals with the next chapter:  
**IMPORTANT: **In the next chapter there sill be Missing-Nin but I really want them to be reader made **OC's. **If you think that they are going to die you would be wrong my friends. If you want your OC in the fic as fast as possable make them a Missing-Nin from any village but Konoha. If you do this I can promise that they will be in the next chapter and maybe even the chapter after that. **IF I DON'T GET THESE OC I WILL WAIT UNTIL NEXT WEEK THURSDAY TO PUT THE NEXT CHAPTER OUT! THAT MEANS I CAN'T WORK ON THE NEXT CHAPTERS WHICH MEANS THAT IT WILL TAKE EVEN LONGER FOR THAT UPDATE! SO IT IS TO YOUR BENEFIT TO MAKE THESE OC'S!**

I have one more thing, If you want your OC's to have a special ark with Vain tell me. I'm already going to have special chapters that focus on each OC later in the Fic, I just want to know if you want that and a special ark with Vain.

In this chapter you will learn more about Vain's past. Enjoy...

* * *

Vain leapt through the trees with a practiced grace. He had spent the last night telling and then trying to get Ami, Ai, and Kitara to calm down about the fact that Minato, the Hokage was going to be training them while he was away. They, in return, told him the Anko Mitarashi wanted to meet him. From what he had heard of the women she was a furious and sadistic Kunoichi in battle and an insane flirt any other time. He didn't trust what he had heard and decided to measure her up when he met her, even though she apparently hated him because of his family. What's new, the rest of the village already does.

Vain turned his thoughts to the city of Tokagokai. From what he remembered about it, it was a large trading city due to its location on the south end of Fire County and the sea that it sat on the shore of. For a civilian, it would take about three days travel to get there from Konoha, for a Genin, about two days, and for and experienced Shinobi, one day. Vain had started early, at 3:00am, and projected his arrival at 5:45pm. A fast time but for him and any other Hunter-Nin who were used to travel, it was do-able.

There was still no information on the Missing-Nin that Vain was going after. It was almost as if they disappeared. This worried Vain some-what. Usually lower rank Missing-Nin gathered a group of bandits around them but he hadn't heard of any bandit activity in any of the regions of Konoha. It was the high ranked ones that kept to themselves, that was what had him worried.

* * *

Kitara looked up from the scroll her found on Vain's bookshelf when the sound of the door opening came to her ears. When she saw who it was she was immediately filled with nervousness, it was the Hokage.

Minato looked at her and smiled warmly. "You must be Kitara."

Kitara nodded dumbly. "H-how did y-you-"

"Vain told me about you and his team." He looked around," Where are the other girls, Ami and Ai?"

"A-a-ami's s-s-sti-ill sleep-p-" she stuttered until Minato interrupted.

"Stop." She did. "Take a deep breath." She inhaled slowly and held it. "Now, breathe out." She did. "Better?"

Kitara was surprised that she did, actually, feel much better. "Yes, thank you, Hok-"

"I'm Minato-Sensei to you."

"Minato-Sensei," Kitara said slowly.

"Now, where were the other two?"

"Ami is still sleeping and Ai is in the back looking at Vain-Sensei's herb garden."

Minato nodded. "Let's gather them shall we?"

After they woke up Ami, grabbed Ai from the garden, and got them over their nervousness at meeting the Hokage they found themselves in a clearing only a few hundred meter from Vain's home.

Minato sat crossed legend and armed and asked, "Did Vain say anything to you girls about me?"

"Yeah," Ami said, "he said that you were a pervert that took after, and getting worse then, Jiraiya of the Sannin."

Minato face faulted. "He was lying."

"He said you'd say that," countered Ai.

"My wife would kill me?"

"He also said that if you said your wife would kill you over something that you were probably telling the truth."

"I really hate you right now, Vain," Minato said while drawing circles in the dirt. He sat back down saying, "Okay, enough fooling around. Vain asked me to teach you three, Elemental manipulation, so I want you three to pump some chakra into these cards." He handed each a card. "Your affinity is judged by what happens to the paper: if it splits in half, wind; crumbles, earth; burns, fire; gets wet, water; and finally if it crumples; lightning. Now affinities tell you what elemental jutsu will be easy for you and what ones will be hard. I'll explain that after you three find your affinities."

Kitara went first and, unsurprising due to her Uchiha blood, her paper burned, fire.

Ami went second and her paper crumbled earth.

Ai went last and her paper got wet, water.

Minato whistled. "You three lucked out. Those thee happens to be the elements that Vain uses the most."

"What is Vain-Sensei's affinity?" asked Kitara.

"Are, plural. Vain has two affinities which isn't rare for Jonin. You three will probably get one more each as well when you get stronger. Vain's are earth and fire, but he knows jutsu from all the elements."

"I thought you could only learn jutsu from your affinity," Ami said.

"No, it's just easier to learn jutsu's from your affinity. Your counter affinity will be the elemental jutsu that you will have trouble learning. Now, I could go into a lengthy speech about all this boring crap or we could leave the boring stuff to Vain and we can start to get to work, I say work." The girls nodded their agreement. "All right, first fire. Fire is started by something getting hot enough to ignite; we practice the manipulation of it the same way." He picked up a dry stick. "Kitara, I want you to focus your chakra on this stick, focus on it heating up, and then catching on fire." He handed the stick to Kitara and picked a rock up, which he handed to Ami. "Focus on crumbling that rock with you chakra. A lot of people mistake it as a force of chakra to break it but think of it as more of a flow of chakra, connect to that flow, then bend it to your will." Minato took out a water bottle and sighed as he handed it to Ai. "I'll miss you water. Earth and water are similar in that it is a flowing of chakra that gives you control over it. Try to make a pillar rise out of the water by flowing your chakra into it. All of these exercises are the beginner exercises, take your time with them, most Genin don't start elemental manipulation until at least three months after graduating."

"Then why are we learning this now?" asked Ami.

"Because Vain takes training very seriously. It will be hard but you will benefit from this training in the long run."

* * *

Vain walked down the main road of Tokagokai, looking for an inn to stay the night in. While some Hunter-Nin might start hunting now, Vain didn't want to get caught out in the night and give any of the Missing-Nin an advantage. The city reminded him of Konoha from the way the homes were made but the smell of the sea in the air told Vain that this was an entirely different place.

"Oh, Kami, is that you Vain?" called a voice in front of him and when he saw a caramel haired women he smiled.

"Saya, what are the chances of seeing you here?" Vain asked. Saya was beautiful to say the least. Her long caramel colored hair, hazel eyes, soft tanned skin, the body of an experienced Kunoichi, and with her well endowed bust she was an eye catcher were ever she went. She wore standard Shinobi sandals, her navy Shinobi pants were ran up her body and was tied down with bandages in random places, her kunai pouch was tied to her right thigh, her stormy-grey shirt covered her entire upper body and arms but was tight against her body, like a second skin, and she proudly displayed the Leaf symbol as a silver etching that was just above her left breast, to the side of the symbol was the kanji for freedom.

Saya giggled, Vain remembered her being a very giggly girl in his childhood, "Knowing how often you're on the move, Vain, I would say that Kami must have wanted us to meet." (Author: Close enough.)

"I've settled down on the running around recently."

"Really? What did Lord Hokage do, stick you with a Genin team?" she asked with a perplexed face.

Vain remained quiet.

Saya put her hand to her mouth. "He didn't."

"I got to pick my team and don't have to do D-rank mission, I found it a fair deal. I've actually grown quite attached to them, my team."

"At least you're happy with it."

Meanwhile a man was watching Vain and Saya's conversation in stunned silence. His name was Hazama, with the tiger claw like scar that went over his right eye, his black hair that was down in the front and shot out horizontally in the back, his grey eyes looked alert and tired at the same time, he had a tight necklace on that hugged his neck like a choker, a black leather sleeveless vest was zipped up to the bottom of his neck which allowed the collar to rise up his neck, his black leather pants were somewhat tight but not uncomfortable went down to his black combat boots, he had black leather fingerless gloves, and on his right arm was a Konoha hitae-ate attached to a short leather band.

Hazama has been Saya's boyfriend for the past two years but he could honestly say that he had never heard her say that she knew Vain Thanatos. He was in stunned silence at how casually she and Vain were talking. He had been on a mission with the guy once and he had barely said more then ten words and here he was talking casually to his, Hazama's, girlfriend. It was kind of creepy.

"How does Saya know Vain Thanatos?"

Hazama turned to the voice to see his friend Maru walking over to him. Maru was a shy guy that had little to no self confidence, unless it dealt with his job. Maru's full name was Maru Hyuga and a great Shinobi, but since his father was the son of a Hyuga councilman he could never keep up with his family's high standards when it came to training. If only they could see him on a mission.

"I have no idea," Hazama answered.

Maru looked over at the two and said, "They're talking like they have know each other for years, maybe some competition for you, Hazama?"

Hazama let the finger bird fly but quickly put it away when Saya and Vain walked over.

"Oh," Saya said, "Maru you're here too. This is funny it's like all of my friends are just popping up at once." She started to giggle.

"Um-" Hazama got out before Saya interrupted him.

"This is Vain," she pointed at Vain. "Vain this is Hazama and Maru," she pointed at the two in turn, she latched onto Hazama's arm, "and Hazama is my boyfriend."

Vain held out his hand while saying, "You're a lucky man to have such a kind and beautiful woman."

Hazama took Vain's hand and shook it. "How do you know Saya, if I may ask?"

"It will be easier to explain later." Vain turned to Maru and shook his hand as well.

Saya leaned over to Maru. "Maru what are you doing here anyway?"

"The Hokage stuck me a Temp. Sensei of a Genin team."

Saya looked around. "Where are they?"

Maru shrugged, "No idea."

Saya sweat dropped. "You lost them?"

"No."

"But-"

"I'm hiding."

Hazama started to laugh. "You're hiding from them; they really can't be that bad."

"The two girls aren't it's the boy," Maru said as he looked around."

"What's so bad about him?" Vain asked.

Maru shuddered. "He's a prankster. I almost got hit by three stink bombs, four paint balls, and one pissed squirrel on the way here."

"A squirrel?" Hazama asked slowly.

"A pissed squirrel," Maru said darkly.

After Hazama stopped laughing he turned to Saya and Vain and asked, "Okay it's latter, how do you two know each other?"

Vain and Saya looked at each other and Saya finally said, "I'll tell the story but not here. Let's get something to eat."

The group soon found themselves in a restaurant. It wasn't a fancy place, just fit for the common folk.

"Alright, we meet two months before the Kyuubi attack. It was a dark and eerie night...

(Flashback)

A young boy looked into the sky to see the stars. There was once a time that he would make a wish on those specks of light but those times were now in the past and the boy knew better then to wish. He had learned that wishes were best left to those that had money; wishes didn't keep you fed and warm at night. He rubbed his cheek with his grimy hand and looked out of the alley he was in. He froze when people ran by the opening and relaxed when they finally got out of view. This was not a good time of year for him to be out at night, well worse then any other time of year. The boy couldn't remember his first beating at the hands of the villagers, not from memory loss but from the fact that it happened so often that he truly couldn't recall which the first was.

"Over here, I found him," yelled a voice from behind the boy.

The boy snapped his neck to look be hind him and say a few Uchiha running down the alley from the other end. He knew that they were Uchiha from the Sharingan eyes that blazed in there skulls. He did the only thing he could at this moment, he ran. He knew that he wouldn't be able to get away but he did know from experience that the more time of the night that he spent running the less time they had to beat him. He sprinted out of the alley and down the road, it was really late and most people were out celebrating the death of the Kamikanto clan so the roads were empty in this part of town. He took a left and bolted down the dead end alley but didn't stop when he got close to the wall that closed the alley. Instead, he dived into a piece of cardboard that was leaning against the wall and broke through to the other side. He only rarely used his prearranged shortcuts that usually through of the villagers but against trained Shinobi, like the Uchiha, it was a mere annoyance.

"You can't escape traitor!" yelled one of the Uchiha as they jumped over the wall.

The boy just kept running and soon took a right down a new alley way. After going down it for a few seconds he turned to his right and dived into a tunnel that connected this alley way to another. He needed to get through fast; he could easily remember the last time he was caught in a tunnel like this one. The Uchiha's fire balls were a pain he didn't want to experience again; to bad he was most likely destined to experience them tonight. He let out a sigh of relief as he pulled himself out of the tunnel and ran to a small alcove that had a small pit that went under the building next to it; it almost reminded his of the hole that he lived in.

He went still and quieted his breathing before the Uchiha came running into the alley. "Where did he go?" yelled one of the Uchiha.

"I don't know maybe he went down this way," yelled another.

The boy heard some snickering. "You Uchiha are really pathetic if you can't even find a child."

"Grrah, to hell with you Hyuga."

"And such language, hard to imagine that we're considered the same level of power."

"Leave Hyuga before you get burned."

"Is that a threat? Well, I'll forgive it this time, and given what day of the year it is I'll give you Uchiha a present, the traitor is in that alcove there."

The boy rush from his spot and dodged the hands that tried to grab him. After a quick glance at the Hyuga, the boy ran fast then he thought possible down the alley way. He felt lucky with how long he held out before they finally caught him but that feeling went quickly when he realized just where he was. He was a fool, why, of all the places, did he have to get caught in the Uchiha district. He thought back to the chase and felt a dread come over him when he noticed that they had herded him here. He frowned, this was were another lesson he had learned came into play. When all hope was lost, he would stand and take the beatings with out a cry of pain or tears of fear, those two things only made the beatings worse.

* * *

Saya walked home from the festival with a smile on her face. She had so much fun today that it almost made he forget her problems. Her dad, no, that monster had gotten more violent lately. He would normally just hit her a few times and be done but he had more recently been taking to hitting her until he couldn't swing anymore. By now her smile was now fear filled and she actually thought about going to one of her friends homes and staying the night. The monster would be drunk tonight so he wouldn't notice if she didn't come home until the morning.

Saya stopped walking when she heard a familiar sound; to her at least, the sounds of fists meeting flesh. She slowly looked around the corner and what she saw shocked her. There was a boy no older then her being beaten by four of her clansmen but that wasn't the most shocking thing, no; the thing that caused her heart to skip a beat was the look in the boy's eyes. They weren't fear filled; instead they were filled with courage and defiance. The courage to keep getting back up after he was knocked down and the defiance to not cry out in pain. She didn't know when she had started to run but after a vicious punch to the boys face by one of the men she ran into the circle that men made and covered the boy with her arms and body.

"Move it brat," one of the men demanded.

Saya looked at the man and was filled with horror. There in front of her was her Uncle Shiha. She always remembered him with a smile on his face and had always thought him the nicest man in the world, why was he beating this boy, had he done something wrong?

Shiha recalled at seeing Saya. "Saya!"

"Stop hurting him!"

"You don't understand child, it was his clan that took you aunt away."

Saya's eyes widened. It was this boy's clan that took her Aunt Kimi away. Was she wrong in defending this boy, was he actually a bad person?"

"Who cares who the brat is, she's in the way," called out one of the men as he kicked at Saya.

Saya shut her eyes and waited for the hit but let out a small cry when she was grabbed, rolled, and flew into the air. She didn't open her eyes until a few seconds after hitting the ground and she was flabbergasted to see the boy in a position between her and the men. Was he defending her?

"Ha, I still hit him," laughed the man that kicked the boy before he was clobbered in the face by Shiha.

"Shiha, what the hell?" yelled one of the other men.

"You could have hit Saya, you piece of shit." Shiha looked at the boy. "I think that's enough for today."

The men grumbled but eventually left leaving just Shiha, Saya, and the boy. Saya was in shock from when she heard the man say that he had hit the boy when he by all accounts should have hit her, did this boy defend her?

"Saya, come over here," Shiha said lightly.

Saya stood up slowly and looked at the boy as she walked by him and gasped. This was her first time seeing him in the proper light and she was... scared to see him in this condition. To put it bluntly he had been brutalized. His nose was easily broken, his left arm was bent in the wrong direction, he looked like he was favoring his right leg, and he had cuts all over him. That and all the dirt on him made him look like he was about to die on his feet and he had the frame of mind to say, "Get her safely home will you, Uchiha?"

Shiha nodded slowly and watched as the boy limped out of view. It was that moment that he finally noticed Saya at his side. He felt tears come to his eyes and he crouched down and hugged her tightly while saying, "I'm so sorry."

(End flash back)

… and now we keep in touch from time to time."

"You make it sound like those beatings happened all the time from the way you tell your story," Hazama said.

"That's because they did. I may love Konoha very much but that is one thing that I'll never forgive them for," Saya said. She put her hand on Vain's arm. "Vain, you all right?"

He nodded and said, "Yeah, but the past is something I just want to forget."

"I found him!" came a scream form out side the restaurant.

Maru put his hand to his head and said, "Kami, why do you hate me?"

Soon enough, Kami's hate for Maru produced the Genin team that he was Temp. Sensei of. The boy looked peeved and yelled, "Were did you go Maru-Sensei, we were looking everywhere for you?"

"Umm-" Maru said before he was interrupted.

"Yeah, that wasn't very Sensei like to just leave use at the inn," a red haired Kunoichi said. Next to her was a white haired girl who looked on impassively.

Maru sighed, "Listen, Daisuke, Sora, Mai, I left you three there because I was going to meet some friends that might be able to help us with the mission and if you're luck you may actually learn something from them because each of them are Jonin."

Daisuke looked at the other three sitting at the table critically and said, "They don't look so tough."

Hazama stood up with a shaking fist saying, "Why you little brat."

"Hazama sit down and don't kill the sweet little Genin," Saya said as she put her hand on his arm, her other hand was inching to her kunai pouch.

Maru looked over and said, "Saya, you can kill him after I not his temp Sensei."

Daisuke gulped when he saw Saya grin.

"Daisuke," Vain said.

"Y-yes."

"I've a Genin team of my own and they have already learned this lesson, I believe it would do you well to learn it as well."

"What," Maru said, "not to piss off a Kunoichi?"

Vain smiled. "Well that and this, never judge people by how they look and seem, you may be surprised to find out how wrong you are."

"A good lesson," Mai said.

Vain looked at her for a second and then looked at Maru and asked, "Can I keep her?"

Hazama busted into laughter followed soon by Saya who giggled near uncontrollably.

"Easy to see why they like each other so much," Vain noted.

"Excuse me," Vain turned his head back to the Genin and more specifically Mai. "What did you mean by 'keep her.'"

"It's easy to find a Genin to pass Ninjutsu, taijutsu, and all that, onto but it is very hard to find one to pass knowledge onto. Understand?" Vain explained.

"Are you saying I'm a bad Genin," Daisuke said angrily.

"No, Daisuke, I'm not. By what I see of you three you each are strong in your own right, what I'm saying is that while strength is important, you must also have the knowledge to use that strength."

Daisuke nodded along with Sora. Mai just looked at Vain and said, "You're different the most Jonin-Sensei."

Vain chuckled, "I'm different when compared to most people."

"Vain, I never got to ask you what you're doing here," Saya said.

Vain winked, "It's polite to tell others information first."

"Bastard. Hazama and I had a mission to escort a merchant to a city across the sea. We had just gotten back when we ran into you."

Vain nodded. "I'm here hunting some Missing-Nin in the area."

"There are Missing-Nin here?" asked Saya surprise in her voice.

"Not sure, only here-say."

"Missing-Nin, what are those?" Daisuke asked, he and his team were now seated at the table.

Saya put her finger to her chin, much like a teacher does, and said, "Missing-Nin are Shinobi or Kunoichi that have left their villages for one reason or another. While a little more then half are below Jonin level there are considered very dangerous due to village secrets they might posses."

Daisuke scoffed, "They don't sound so tough."

"Lesson two," Vain said as he raised his index and middle finger, "never underestimate an opponent. I've fought Missing-Nin that could take down ANBU. If they don't sound so tough why don't you become a Hunter-Nin, I hear that their life expectancy is the shortest of all the position a Shinobi can hold."

"Oh, how long is the statistic now?" Hazama asked.

"About seven months."

Sora asked, "Are any of you Jonin a Hunter-Nin?"

Saya beamed, "Yes actually, I am, so is Maru, and Vain. I've been at it for an entire year now."

"What about you Maru-Sensei, how long have you been a Hunter-Nin?" asked Daisuke.

Maru scratched his head. "About one and a half years."

"Wow, our sensei is so cool," Daisuke said with stars in his eyes.

"And you Vain?" Mai surprisingly was the one to ask.

Saya looked over curiously, "Yeah Vain, how long have you been a Hunter?"

Vain closed his eyes and let a sigh come out. "It's not about how long some one is a Hunter-Nin or any Nin at all it's about how much they can benefit the village at the end of the day."

"So," Daisuke said annoyed, "not very long?"

Vain chuckled. "About seven years."

Many things happened at this point: Daisuke's mouth dropped open, Sora gasped, Hazama almost fell out of his chair, and the rest stared. Saya slowly stood up and walked over to Vain. When she got there she bowed and said sarcastically, "I bow in the presence of a master." Laughter filled the air.

* * *

Naruto let out a quick burst of laughter. It was dinner time at the Namikaze household and they had some company in the form of Kitara, Ami, and Ai. After a short days of training, compared to what they usually do, Minato had given the girls the rest of the day off. He wasn't surprised with how hard the girls pushed themselves with who they Sensei is. Vain could be a slave driver when it came to training but Minato smiled when he had seen that the girls made training into a friendly competition. When one did something new the others would double their efforts to get results. They got about as far as Minato had predicted today and guess that they would be ready to learn Ninjutsu soon.

Minato had not wanted the girls to fend for themselves tonight and thought that a family atmosphere at dinner would be nice for them. Now here he was sitting at the table, his wife, Kushina, to the right of him, across was Naruto and Ami, they were busy have an eating contest, and at the table's ends sat Ai and Kitara. The girls brought a new element to the table and fit in quite nicely after getting over the nervousness of meeting his wife, who is one of the best Kunoichi in the village.

"What was Vain-Sensei doing before he got us as a team? He told us that he became a Jonin at the age of twelve but what about after that?" Kitara asked.

Minato swallowed the food that was in his mouth and said, "He was and is a Hunter-Nin."

"Really?" asked Ami after finishing another plate.

Minato nodded. "He's been one for about seven years."

"Did he help Kurenai Yuhi on a mission once?" Ai asked.

"Yes he did, how did you know that?"

"Vain-Sensei told us a story when he was telling us about seduction mission. There was something he said in the story that Kurenai said that was similar."

"What was that?" asked Kushina.

Ami poked her chopsticks into the air and said, "Something like, 'a mission is only a failure is you give up on it.'"

"That sounds like Vain," Minato answered. "He has never learned the meaning of give up."

Naruto piped in, "Oto-san, I haven't seen Vain onii-san recently, have you?"

"Yes, your oka-san and I saw him just yesterday."

"Really? I haven't seen him in a while."

Kushina smiled. "That's because he has been busy with his Genin team, you know that."

Naruto pouted, "Doesn't mean he can't visit." He perked up, "Oh well, hey Ami..."

Soon enough the day ended and the girls ended up staying at Minato's home. They could easily say that they had extended their family by three this day.

* * *

OMG that took forever and a half to write, okay not tht long but hey. So about those OC's... GET THEM TO ME ASAP!

See you all next time  
-Judgment


	9. Information

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

I usually just skip over things like this but I have to tell you that **READING THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT!**

This is going to be a type of informational thing for anyone who cares. **IF YOU'RE THINKING OF MAKING AN OC THEN I HIGHLY SUGGEST READING THIS.** I'll be answering some questions that you might have about:

1) The Shinobi ranking system

2) The tailed beasts

3) how many more Missing-Nin OC's are need for the the chapter at the moment.

Let's begin shall we...

* * *

I have a good feeling that there are some people out there that would like the ranking system of this fic explained so here we go. From the beginning:

1) Genin: this is the basic and starting place of all Shinobi(from a village). To become one, a person must pace the academy and then their Jonin-Sensei's test. There really isn't much else to say about this rank.

2) Chunin: Chunin is and interesting rank. It is the middle of the ranks and has no other special thing going for it. Not much to say about this one besides that most Chunin know a few elemental Jutsu.

3) Jonin: This is were the explanation truly begins. In this fic, Jonin means that you are an experienced and powerful Nin. You can be a Jonin all willy-nilly, this is a powerful rank that **MOST **don't reach until the age of 20-24, it is very rare to see a Jonin that is under that age and is only given to those few Nin's because of war time need, battle field promotion, or the Hokage personal selects that person for the position. This is a rank that is not given lightly.

4) Medic-Nin: To be a med-nin, a person doesn't have to be a Jonin in skill, they must only have tested abilities in the use of medical chakra.

5) Hunter-Nin: This is a rank that is personal chosen by a Shinobi. This is by far the most dangerous of all the Shinobi rankings due to easy high chance of running into high class shinobi. Very few live past their first 3 months. It is not strange that all or most Hunter-Nin know or know of another Hunter-Nin since the number of them are so low.

6) ANBU: These Shinobi are under the personal command of the Kage. The rank of ANBU is kept secret from every one, but only Jonin can be asked to join this rank, all other ranks do not have the experience needed. (I always hate it when ANBU die so easily, to me that is bull shit since they are supposed to be the cream of the crop.)

7) Tokubetsu Jonin: Any person who has the rank of Jonin in one of there skills, most Jonin that are seen are actually this rank.

8) ANBU SD(Solo Division): Only this best are given this rank. They are the ones who are sent on mission that are deemed suicidal and as such this is the only rank that can refuse a mission with out reprimand. This rank is only given to the few Shinobi that have proven that they are few above the rest. All Shinobi in this rank have the chance to become Hokage(this rank is only seen in Konoha) just based on fighting strength.  
Yeah I know the basics, I don't want people jumping to the opportunity to make a character an ANBU SD. The only way I'll make an OC this rank is if they obtain this rank in the fic, or they have cleared it through me. Even if you say your OC in this rank, chances are I'll change it, unless there is a damn good reason for it.

The reason I made this is because most people are throwing ranks around like there nothing. I don't mind that your OC in a Jonin, I do mind if they are a Jonin at a ridiculously young age. I understand if you go looking for a specific thing you'll find it and I'm not mad at anyone that has an OC that's young and a Jonin and I also don't want this to discourage anyone from making a young Jonin OC. I just want you to know what your OC is getting into that's all.

* * *

I was always confused when Naruto used even a Tail of Kyuubi's chakra and didn't wipe the floor with anyone he fought. I was down right pissed when he was using 8 tails and didn't just obliterate Pain right then and there. The tailed beasts are supposed to be these unbeatable monsters and yet it seems that everyone and the mom can walk up to them and bitch-slap them back to hell. Not in this fic, oh heeeelllllll no. In this fic the Kyuubi **IS **all but unbeatable, unlike the anime/manga. The only one someone has any hope to fight against is going to be the one tail, the rest you might as well kiss your ass good-bye. That doesn't mean that the beasts can't be sealed into objects though.

* * *

We only need **2 more OC made missing-nin** and I can write the next chapter. Do it now! I'm getting bored as hell sitting here with nothing to do.

* * *

Okay so now that that is over I have a few questions for the people below:

- Is Kin Jonin level? What is she in the Hyuga clan, noble or branch(does have Cage Bird Seal)? If nether please explain.

Med-Jai ferret - Does Maru have the ability to use the Byakugan? Does he use Gentle Fist?

I do believe that's about it. Next chapter will be up on Thursday, Friday, or sooner depending on the last 2 missing nin.


	10. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Why, hello everybody. I'm in a chipper mood because I finally got this chapter done. I was going to keep going with it but I decided to cut it where I did. Thanks to every one who submitted a Missing-Nin.

**"Jutsu"**

_Thinking or Special Taijutsu tech._

* * *

Vain took a breath from the crisp morning air as he stepped out of the inn. Even though he could ask Saya, Hazama, and Maru to help him with this he just couldn't bring himself to ask them to face unknown odds. Just before he could jump onto a near by house he heard a voice from behind say, "You leaving without us?"

Vain turned to look and saw that Hazama had a grim look on his face. Saya and Maru didn't look happy ether. "I won't ask you three to go to what could be your deaths," Vain stated firmly.

"Then don't ask, "Saya said as she walked over to him, "because we're coming any ways."

Vain looked at her with a critical eye and turned it to the others. "If it looks like a hopeless situation," Vain said slowly, "then you three will run, no buts, no complaints. I'll hold the retreat." They nodded. "I've never lost a comrade on a mission; I don't want the first one to be a friend. DO you three understand?"

Saya shivered from the sound Vain's voice. It was gravely and utterly serious. She had heard from others who had been on missions with Vain that he got like this when the mission was going badly or when death was all but guaranteed. She got a hold of herself and forced the shivering to stop, she would fight, she couldn't let Vain fight by himself. "Hai." The other two quickly followed.

Vain nodded but a frown cam over his face when he saw Maru's Genin team come outside with Daisuke yelling, "You're not leaving us behind."

Vain released a little killing intent which caused Daisuke to shut his mouth and stare at him wide eyed. Vain walked over to the Genin slowly and when he got to the he said, "If you three come you will only get in our way. If you three come after we have left I can easily say that one, two, or all of us," he waved his hand to himself and the Jonin behind him, "will die trying to protect you. You three will stay here, no questions. If even one of you show up in this fight and we some how live, I promise you this, you will not be Genin anymore, you'll be expelled from the program. So stay put."

Vain leapt on the roof and jumped away followed closely by the Jonin.

* * *

Vain signaled a halt and waited for the others to get to him before he started to use Jonin sign language to say, "We don't know exact location, but I've been following a trail that was obviously made by a Shinobi."

"How close do you think we are?" Hazama asked.

"Probably close, seeing how far we've gone from town. Prepare yourselves, we move in two."

Two minutes later they were on the move. If any one was watching they would only see four black streaks go across the trees but would only think it was their imagination due to there being no sound made. It wasn't long before Vain called another stop. He pointed to a clearing that was barely visibly and about three hundred yards away. They could make out four people.

The first was a women and young, Vain's sharp eyes could make out her green eyes, long silver hair that had streaks of purple in it, she was longed legged but was still probably five foot four, she had wooden sandals on, from what Vain could make out a black spandex suit that cut off about three inches down her thigh and around her elbow, it when up to her face and covered it from the nose down, she had a white kimono on but seemed to leave it open to show the bandages that she had wrapped around her chest and belly, the sleeves of the kimono went down past her arms, a yellow sash held it shut, and she had a slashed white banded hitae-ate on the yellow sash with the symbol of Suna on it.

The second was a man, white hair, crimson eyes, a red ribbon was around his neck, a white shirt, black Shinobi pants, and black combat boots finished his attire. His red banded hitae-ate was on his arm, slashed, and with a symbol of Getsugakure on it.

The third was a man, long green hair, green eyes, he had a black shirt on that had several buckles and belts attached to it, black pants that had more pockets then any Shinobi would ever need, and black boots. On the back of the shirt it said, "Warp your mind," in kanji. His hitae-ate was on one of the buckles on his shirt, it too had a slash, and a symbol of Iwa on it.

The last was a man, his hair was white in the front and black in the back, his eyes crimson, he had what looked like iron bands from a prison around his neck, a tight black shirt, black pants, black sandals, red fingerless gloves that went up to his elbow with a leather band around both of them, and a grey trench coat that had three buckles in the belly, white lining, and several designs in white on it, on the back was the kanji for 'sinner.' His hitae-ate was on the belt of his pants with a slash through the Suna symbol. The strangest thing about the man was the tattoo on his the left side of his face.

Vain signaled quickly, "Saya, you take the green haired one, Hazama, the girl, Maru, the guy with the white shirt, I have the last guy there."

"Shouldn't we make a plan of attack?" Maru signaled.

Vain shook his head and verbally said, "It wouldn't help, Sinner there knows we're here. Break!"

* * *

Hazama pulled out his two hook swords and charged his enemy. He couldn't afford to be merciful to this one; he had friends that would need him. It seemed that the Missing-Nin some how heard Vain's plan because they broke off and engaged the given opponents. Hazama leaped out of a tree and preformed a double down swings, crushing into the ground. The woman was fast, he had barely seen her move.

Hazama blocked a few kunai that came flying at him and countered with a few of his own. He jumped into a back flip to avoid her as she charged out of the brush. She struck at his head as he landed which he met with a reversed gripped hook sword. A kick to the belly knocked her away and she rolled onto her feet. She went back down immediately to avoid Hazama's slash and she rolled back again to just miss the down cut that followed. Before she smashed the back of her head into the tree behind her she planted her hands down, pushed herself into the air, and landed on a branch. She rushed up the tree, jumping from branch to branch.

_Why doesn't she just run up? _Hazama thought as he followed swiftly after her. After what seemed ten stories Hazama felt his feet slip on the tree and then loose grip all together. Falling, Hazama's mind raced and a primal fear fell over him when he realized that he couldn't use his chakra. Thinking fast, he slammed his hook swords into the tree and swung with his legs around the tree. He could barely hold on to his swords as they cut through the bark of the tree and cursed slightly when he saw a branch coming. Kicking his feet out and pulling the blades with him, he fell from the tree and slammed his blades into the side of another tree next to the previous. Losing grip form one of his blades, Hazama let go and pulled a kunai out quickly and slammed that into the tree in place of his blade. He couldn't help but sigh in relief when he felt his feet touch the ground.

He didn't get much time to relax when he looked into the tree and saw the women jumping down at him, his hook sword in hand. Hazama pushed with his hands and jumped back with his feet allowing the blade the women wielded to graze the peach fuzz that grew on his face.

"You're good," the women said as she stood up from he crouched landing position.

"Mind telling me what happened back there?" Hazama questioned carefully.

"Nothing much," she replied, "just your ability to use chakra disappeared."

Hazama's eyes widened. "That's not good."

She smirked, well, Hazama thought she was smirking. "Thank my bloodline; it evens the playing field for me."

Hazama brought his sword up to bloke hers; this was going to be an interesting fight.

* * *

Saya threw some senbon at the green haired man that she was told to take down. She had hunted plenty of Nin but this guy took the cake for the weirdest. She could have swore he said something like, "A family man shouldn't be fighting," or something like that.

Saya froze when her vision went dark. She looked around quickly and didn't see anything but darkness. She turned when she heard giggling but didn't see anything. She swore as she put her hands into a sign saying, "Kai."

She jumped back when he vision returned and right in front of her was the Nin she was fighting. He looked, perplexed? "Never have anyone break your genjutsu?" she asked as she pumped some chakra into her lungs.

"No," he answered calmly, "just confused."

"Confused?"

"Yes," he said nodding. "You had problems with your family didn't you?"

Saya's eyes widened, but she didn't let the shock stop her channeling of her chakra.

The man nodded. "Yes, you did. I wonder, was it your father you had a problem with?"

"Shut up!" Saya yelled as she brought had hand to her mouth and blew. A fire ball came shooting from her mouth that was about the size of a basket ball. The Nin dodged it easily but he didn't expect the ball to explode as he was thrown back from the explosion. Saya rushed over to him and put a Kunai to his throat. She leaned her face in close and said, "Never mention my father around me."

"So, it is daddy issues," he said with a smile.

Saya slit his throat with such force that she actually cut the man's head off but to her surprise it and his body turned into mud.

"Why, don't you tell me about daddy?"

She turned to see the man behind her, smiling. Saya, charged him and threw a kunai at him when she was half way there. The man ducked only to meet Saya's foot in his face as she did a rising kick. She didn't stop her speed as she continued forward and shot her hand out the grab the man's arm. Spinning, Saya through him into a near by tree, a smile came to her face when she heard the crunch of his head.

"Tell me about your love life."

Saya turned as fast as she dared and when she saw him again, he still had that smile on his face. "Stop smiling!" Saya yelled.

"Why? Does it make you angry?" he asked with curiosity in his voice.

"Yes," Saya said through her teeth.

"Good," he said, still smiling.

Saya didn't move this time when he vision went dark. She knew that is was an illusion, so all she had to do was put her hand in the proper seal and, "Kai!"

Her eyes widened farther then they already were when the darkness stayed.

"Help me," came a voice that sounded like a seven year old.

Saya turned slowly and she gasped when she saw a small child standing in front of her. She was even more surprised when she realized that she knew this child from a long time ago. It was Vain.

"Help me."

Saya looked around, when she didn't see anyone she crouched down and said, "Help you how?"

The little Vain had been looking down this entire time but when he turned his eyes to Saya she stumbled back onto his butt. His eye where nothing but black holes. "Take me in, protect me," the boy said in a snarl. "You got to live in a nice home, a warm bed, while I was lucky to have a newspaper as a blanket and a beating as a bed time story. You could've given me a home!"

Saya shook her head. "No, I couldn't have. My father would have-"

"What, beaten me? I was already beaten! At least you had a home, a bed, a family!"

"We weren't a family! He was a monster!"

The boy smiled as a said slowly, "It takes a monster to know a monster."

* * *

Maru glided across the ground as he ran towards his opponent. Maru was confident in his skills, he could beat this man. As Maru closed the distance the heard the man yell, **"Earth Style: Earth Wall!"**

Maru didn't slow as the ground rose in front of him but he did give a large lunge and landed on the rising wall. He ran up the wall with ease until he hear, **"Earth Style: Rose Vines!"**

Maru released his chakra and fell to the earth as a large earth vine launched out at him. He used small wind jutsu to push him out of the way of the lashing vine and as he landed he started to run along the perimeter of the wall. Maru didn't miss a beat when a massive dragon head broke out of from the wall and came at him. Changing his course, he ran away from the earthen wall sealing as fast as his hands would let him. When done, he slide turned and released his attack, **"Fire Style: Soaring Flame Bullet!"** The 'bullet' struck the dragon in the head and blew it to chunks. Maru didn't miss a beat as he charged down the length of the dragon, back toward the earth wall.

**"Earth Style: Rising Stone Spears!"**

Maru spun to dodged the first spear to erupt from the dragon's back and pushed some chakra to his legs to run faster as the spears of earth rose behind him. Maru did a few quick seals and with out a word smoke started to form from his hands. Soon he was a moving ball of smoke and as he jumped over the last of the dragon he burst out of the smoke and charged his white haired enemy.

The man grinned as he caught a punch and said, "That was awesome, ever think of going into showbiz as a smoke machine?"

Maru shrugged the comment off as he stuck again and soon he and his opponent were in a dance of fists and kicks.

Every so often Maru's opponent would make a snide remark about a punch that he threw and any kick that was a little less then full force. Maru knew that the man was stronger then he was but what Maru did have a one up on him was his speed. Instead of blocking the man's crushing blows, Maru took to dodging them and with every hit that he got off on the man he knew that the fight was that much closer to done.

* * *

Vain landed in front of the tattooed man and looked at the tattoo with interest. It turned out to not be a tattoo at all but a seal of some sort and while Vain had no clue what it did he did know that it had something to do with his eye. "What are you here for?"

The man looked at Vain with an amused look and said, "I'm here to judge those who have sinned."

"All have sinned, how do you judge something that all are guilty of?"

"It is not those that have sinned that I judge but those that encourage their own damnation."

Vain nodded, "But isn't damnation their punishment for their sins, why should you judge when judgment has already been passed?"

"Because some are like a festering splinter, a tumor in the heart of society. There are seven that are the deadliest."

"Seven?"

"Wrath, greed, envy, pride, sloth, lust, and gluttony. These are the deadly sins that all make but few keep."

"Keep?"

"People can become addicted to these sins and with time they become shadows of their past selves. I judge them and sentence them to death."

"If you judge the damned then why do you travel with other Missing-Nin? Surly they are addicted to at least one of your deadly sins?"

"Not all people are as they seem. You know that better than any one, Vain Thanatos."

"You have me at a disadvantage, my I ask your name and, if I may, ask for your immediate surrender?"

"My name is Sinner," the man said as he cast a scroll out and poofs of smoke appeared and surrounding the man were seven people, "and these are my sins."

* * *

Hazama wasn't one of the best swordsmen in the village for no reason and he could easily tell that this woman had never wielded a blade like the hook sword. Her grip was all wrong and her force was placed in the wrong spots. He caught a cross cut and locked the sword on his cross guard. Twisting his wrist caused the blade to leave his opponents hands and he made a quick stab with the kunai he had in he left hand. The women spun out of the way and went for a back hand but was stopped when Hazama grabbed her arm and wrenched it around, he had expected a pop of broken bone but what he got was a huge surprise. The women had jumped right when he twisted her arm and caused him to spin her with the arm allowing her to get a perfect kick to the back of his head.

Hazama rolled and jumped to the nearest tree and his eyes widened slightly when he stuck this time. Hazama's mind was going a mile a minute and he soon got a smile on his face when he felt his feet start to give and then fall from the tree. Hazama rushed the women that was running at him and when she dodged to the side he paid her just enough attention to block the kunai that she sent his way. When he got to the nearest tree he ran up it and jumped into a back flip when his momentum stopped his sticking to the tree. He charged the women again and just as before he ran right by her when she dodged and this time through a kunai with an exploding tag on it. Hazama meet the kunai with one of his own and raced to the tree that he was originally heading to. He did the same thing on this tree as the last one and he wasn't surprised to not stick.

Landing from the flip, Hazama blocked a cross cut from the Kunoichi and returned with a stab to her gut. She did just as he predicted so he threw three kunai at her. She blocked them easily and changed after him as he ran to a tree and up, his chakra was back. Moving quickly, he jumped off the tree and while moving over the Kunoichi he let out a Jutsu, **"Lightning Style: Physical Thunderclap!"**

Hazama smiled at the shift in the air and down right grinned when the Kunoichi was suddenly slammed into the ground hard enough the make a small crater. As he landed, Hazama rushed to the crater and jumped in to end the fight. What he didn't expect was to be shot out of the crater from the force of the kick he received from the thought to be downed Kunoichi.

* * *

"Hello, Saya."

Saya turned her head slowly, her already trembling form barely keeping her from falling onto the ground. She saw Hazama and he looked happy to see her. She smiled slightly.

"Do you think I'm happy to see you?" he asked.

Saya nodded slowly as if she thought she would be hit if she moved to fast. Hazama walked over to her and crouched down next to her. He took her in his arms and she leaned against his chest. She could feel his voice rumble in his chest as he spoke, "Do you remember all the happy times we had together?"

"Yes," she said quietly. She caught herself when Hazama moved from behind her but she was hurled to the floor when she felt the back of Hazama's hand smash into her cheek.

"Who said you could speak, you little bitch?" he said furiously. "You always do something to piss me off do you know that."

Saya didn't hear him though, her mind was like quick sand. Hazama had hit her, he never hit her. She let out a cry when she was hit again.

"I'm speaking you whore, now listen!"

"Why are you doing this?" she sobbed.

"Why, why? Because your the most useless bitch in the world. How couldn't you tell that I was using you to just get into your pants. If I knew I was going to have to work this hard I would have said fuck it a long time ago!"

"You don't mean that."

"Do you really think that anyone could love you?" a new voice asked.

Saya cried even harder. She knew this voice well, she had spent many nights crying while listening to this voice comfort her and tell her how great and wonderful she was. This voice belonged to the one man that she thought of as an older brother, even though they are the same age. It was Vain's voice.

"Did you really think that I wanted to comfort you when ever you came to my home crying your eyes out" You were nothing more then a burden that no one else wanted to deal with and when you finally stop crying you would just go home. You didn't even think of my feelings when you went out with that fool Hazama. I'm twice the man he is and yet you picked him with out second thought. Tell me, were you just happy that someone might have loved you? Do you want to know what I think?"

"Please, please don't..."

"Who could love a monster?"

* * *

Maru could for the first time in his life, not including his family life, say that he was getting agitated at someone for just talking. This man would just talk and talk and, guess what? TALK! Maru just couldn't understand why this man was talking so damn much but here he was locked in hand-to-hand combat and he was talking about the sky being blue of all things.

"It's such a pretty color isn't it?" he asked as he ducked a high kick from Maru.

"You know, you don't talk much. Why's that?"

"Oh my Kami, a squirrel!"

"I'm hungry."

"Harder, my grandmother could hit harder then that last punch!"

"You look mad."

"I want me some chicken."

"WOULD YOU SHUT THE HELL UP!" Maru yelled after knocking the man back with a double palmed strike.

The man sniffed slightly, "That wasn't nice."

"If you say another word I swear to Kami, I'll not just kill you, I'll end you," Maru said darkly.

The man's face turned serious and Maru let out a sigh, finally they could fight. "Another word."

Maru's eye brow twitched as he looked at the man. Maru clench his fists hard enough to crack the knuckles and said, "I hate you."

* * *

_Puppets! _was Vain's first thought when the people that surrounded Sinner attacked him at once. Vain slammed him hand on the ground and force the earth to band to his will making a wall of earth to rise over him to intercept the seven puppets that charged him. Vain ran up the wall he made while sealing quickly and quickly jumped to a near by tree when one of the puppets with the kanji for greed on its back punched a hole through his wall. **"Fire Style: Pillar of Flame!"** Vain called out as a stream of fire erupted from his extended hand straight into the hole that the puppet just made.

Vain landed of the tree only to drop to the bottom branch when one more puppet attacked him as he landed. Pulling a kunai, Vain barely made it into to block several senbon that shot from the puppets mouth. Grabbing the branch he just dropped from, Vain whipped himself around it and panted a kick straight into the puppets unprotected chest. Letting go of the branch he followed the puppet in the air and threw a few more kicks. Vain grabbed the puppets ankle and spun it around quickly to get a grip on the shoulders. Going with the fall, he plummeted to the ground with the puppet firmly in his grasp and when he got close enough he called, _"Falling Dragon!"_ Vain let go and quickly preformed one last kick that knocked the puppet into he ground with more force then it would have previously had. On the puppets back was the kanji for wrath.

Vain ducked and spun to avoid two puppets that came from the shrubs. When another one came from right behind him, he back flipped, caught the puppet by the shoulders as it ran underneath him and, when he landed, smashed it into the ground. He jumped into a spin kick and struck one of the puppets in he face. As he landed he continued the spin with his leg out and took the legs out form the last puppet in the area. A double palm struck pushed the puppet into the trees and collided with a large oak. Lust, envy, and pride where in their backs as they had appeared.

Vain turned when he heard clapping and wasn't surprised to see Sinner walking out from some trees. "That was most impressive," Sinner said.

"You're toying with me," Vain said casually.

Sinner shook his heard. "Testing you would be a better way to put it." Sinner's left eye started to glow brown at that moment and out from the ground erupted an enormous man, his eyes also glowing brown. Vain blocked the strike that the puppet threw and immediately regretted it as he was sent flying and skipping across the ground. Rolling, he managed to flip onto his feet when wrath appeared behind him and launched a wave of senbon from its mouth. Envy, Lust, and Pride each threw kunai, Sloth and Greed each had glowing eyes, gold and white, as they lashed out with a fire ball from Sloth and strike of lightning from Greed.

Sinner chuckled as he walked over to Vain's body but stopped when he saw that it was just a clump of mud. The next thing he knew he was flying with Gluttony taking the brunt of the hit. "You're not the only one that can be in two places at once," Vain said.

Sinner spat. "Looks like play time is over." Raising his arms, Sinner started a new attack.

Vain didn't let it start though as he slammed his hand on the ground and called, "Earth Style: Wave of Spikes!" From his hand to Sinner the ground vibrated and shifted slightly before spikes erupted from the ground. Sinner jumped before the spikes could pierce him but didn't count of the fact that vain was waiting for him in mid-air. With a monstrous kick, Vain sent Sinner rocketing to the spikes. With the skill only a master puppet user could muster, Sinner manipulated his human puppets to position themselves under him on the spikes and he safely landed in a bed of hands.

Sinner nodded to him self and suddenly his left eye started to glow a bright red as Wrath speed toward Vain, who had landed in a spike free area. Vain didn't have time to think before Wrath was on him and while normally puppets could never fight with taijutsu, Sinner did it perfectly. Vain would have sworn that the man he was fighting was just that, a man, but the fact that this thing in front of him was a puppet only made him worry somewhat. Vain jumped a low kick and cried, "Harpies Talons!" A swift kick with the spin and a twist of his body allowed Vain to perform a crushing heel kick into the puppets face. Spinning one last time in the air, he brought his left fist around and struck Wrath into the ground with a blow form the outside of the fist. Vain landed and felt his heart skip a beat when he heard Saya scream.

Sinner yelled, **"Fire Style: Seven Paths of Sin!"**

Vain could only take a step before the area he was in exploded in a fiery inferno. The blast launched Vain into the forest.

* * *

Hazama had to hand it the Kunoichi, she was holding out pretty well but he had figured out her game. It seemed that every time his chakra went out it only went for about thirty seconds. After that he had about ten seconds of chakra use before it happened again. Good thing he was a swordsman and didn't rely on chakra all that much but if what he thought was true then this women was used to fighting with out chakra while he wasn't. Talk about home field advantage.

Hazama ducked another wave of kunai and returned a few of his own. He never realized how much he relied on chakra until he couldn't use it. A scream made him stop and turn to Saya's battle. _No!_

A massive explosion from Vain's area turned his attention there for a second before he was hit by something moving faster then he ever imagined.

"Hazama, go help Saya!" Hazama heard in his ear.

Hazama could barely believe that the thing that hit him was Vain. As they rolled on the ground, just before Vain threw him from the battle field Hazama screamed, "She can turn off your ability to use chakra!"

When Hazama landed he pushed off the branch of a tree so hard that is shattered. He looked like a bat out of hell as he flew through the forest toward Saya. Kami have mercy on the man's soul that hurt Saya, because Kami would be seeing it soon.

* * *

Maru just jumped back from the Missing-Nin when he heard a scream come from the forest. _Saya!_ "I'm afraid I can't afford to play with you any longer."

Surprisingly the other man nodded with a grim look on his face. "I never wanted to fight in the first place, but now that a woman is hurt I can't leave ether."

"If you get in my way-"

"I'm giving up. I hate to, but that women's life is worth more then this fight."

Maru looked at the man questioningly. "Why would you do that?"

"Name's Shuichi. I've never liked it when women are hurt. She's your friend right?"

Maru nodded.

"Then it seems that we're on the same side now."

"Do you really expect me to trust you that easily?"

Shuichi pulled a kunai from his pouch and put it to his throat. "Then finish it."

Maru walked over to Shuichi and grabbed the kunai. After a few tense second he said, "You stay in front of me and your hands where I can see them, understand?"

Shuichi nodded and with that they were off as fast as their feet could take them.

* * *

Lui looked down at the Kunoichi with a sigh. He hated fighting, really hated fighting. He was a family man, not a fighter. Lui walked over to the young women and pulled her next to a tree. She was breathing fine and he knew that the mental damage would be fixed before she woke up. A flash of movement brought his eyes to lay on Shuichi and the man he was fighting. Shuichi led and the man looked murderous, must be a friend of the girl. Lui waved at them.

The man nudged Shuichi, who then walked over to Lui and quickly put a kunai to his throat. "Don't move."

Lui nodded and said, "She's fine, it'll all seem like a bad dream when she wakes up."

"What did you do to her?" the black haired man asked.

"A genjutsu of my own creation. I'm an expert in psychological manipulation and I apply that into a genjutsu that makes you see things you feel guilty about, your fear, and what you feel self-conscious about."

"So, pretty much a mind fuck?" Shuichi questioned.

"Put crudely, yes, and please don't swear around me," Lui said with a scowl.

"Maru!" Maru turned and saw Hazama flash into the small area that they were in. He looked worried. "Is she alright?" He turned and saw her laying next to the tree. He moved faster then Maru had ever seen and he was soon in a defensive position in front of Saya. "Maru, what are these Missing-Nin doing alive?"

"I think you should be asking what Saya is doing alive. It turns out that-"

"Lui."

"-Lui here didn't want to kill Saya and right when we heard her scream, Shuichi here gave up."

Hazama looked from Maru to Saya and then to Lui. "What did you do to her?" he asked slowly.

"I simply used a genjutsu on her that makes her see things she fears, feels guilty about, and/or feels self-conscious about."

Hazama nodded but before anyone could stop him he struck Lui across the face. "That's for hurting her, the fact that you're alive is thanks for not doing the same to her." Hazama sat down next to Saya and took her hand.

"Hazama," Maru asked, "if you're here then does that mean that Vain is fighting the last two alone?"

Just as he asked that three giant pillars rose out of the forest to stand forty feet above the ten story canopy of the forest.

"Holy shit!" exclaimed Shuichi.

"It's out of our hands now," Hazama said. "We would only get in the way now."

Maru looked over to the pillars and said, "You better live, Vain."

* * *

Vain landed with no grace what so ever as he stumbled and rolled on the ground. When he finally stopped he trying to get up only to let out a hiss. He looked at his left arm and sighed, it was covered with second and third degree burns. That would make this fight interesting. Putting the pain into the back of his mind, Vain grunted as he stood up and turned to meet his opponents. The seven puppets were arrayed next to Sinner and The Kunoichi was standing on a branch with practiced ease.

"You don't look to good," said the Kunoichi.

"Now now, Kisa, it's not nice to make fun of someone when their hurt," Sinner said with a chuckle.

Vain concentrated on his eyesight and when it finally got back into focus he looked up at the two Missing-Nin. They were both talking as if he wasn't standing there weather they were ignoring him or seeing what he would do he didn't know but what he did know was this, they would regret giving him time to get ready.

**"Earth Style: Pillars of Tartarus!"**

Three massive pillars shot from the ground at the call of the jutsu and they rose swiftly. Sinner, his puppets, and Kisa were not standing during this because of the spikes that shot out of the pillars. No surface was safe and Sinner soon found himself in a desperate attempt to just stay ahead of the pillars, he couldn't afford to watch Vain. Kisa thanked all the Kami's in the universe for the speed she had as she darted here and there to stay away from the spikes that promised her death. The spikes continued to come even as the Pillars rose. Story by story, foot by foot they rose until they met their full height of fifty stories. Sinner looked down from where he was, deeming it safe since the spikes stopped coming. It was quite the view, he could see a sea of green made by the trees canopies. He was snapped out of his viewing when Wraith was smashed throw the wall next to him and thrown out into the air.

Vain grabbed a spike that had grown on the outside of the pillars and threw himself out and up from the room that Sinner was in. An explosion from the area Sinner was in caused a smile to grace his face, thank you exploding tags. Entering back into the pillar's structure of spikes, Vain jumped, twisted, and flipped around the spikes to get to his next target.

Kisa jumped out at him from the right which Vain dodged by dropping down a story to another spike. Jumping up and catching a spike with his right hand he pulled himself around and met Kisa as she jumped down after him. A kick to the side sent her flying into a Spike and before she could get back up to jump away Vain was behind her with a Kunai to her throat. She dared not move with the razor of steel ready to end her which was also the reason that Vain didn't move either.

It seemed that the explosion didn't kill Sinner, hurt but not killed. Vain could feel three Kunai next to his back, two on his hamstrings, two more on his elbows, and a last one resting nicely on his neck. Vain easily looked over the head of Kisa and saw Sinner step out from a spike just in front of him.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Sinner said.

"You kill me I end her with my last breathe."

Sinner sighed, "Then what, are we going to stand here until one of use dies of old age?"

Vain leaned his head over and looked at the women he had hostage and saw a tattoo, XIII. "Nice tattoo, what does it mean?"

Kisa scoffed but tensed when the Kunai dug into her throat a little more. "It's the number of women that I've sacrificed to the Shinigami."

"So that's why you're a Missing-Nin," Vain said while nodding.

"Did you say women you've sacrificed to the Shinigami?" Sinner questioned.

"Yeah, you have a problem with that?" Kisa spat.

Vain tensed when the puppets started to move but then was confused when they started to move away from him and returned to Sinner.

"What are you doing? He'll kill me," Kisa screamed.

"You, who would so defile the Shinigami's name, deserve nothing more than death," Sinner answered as he sealed his puppets away in a poof of smoke.

"Mind explaining what you mean?" Vain asked not moving the kunai from Kisa's throat.

"The Shinigami is immortal and because of that he is patient. All souls eventually pass under the Shinigami's eyes. It is an insult to send some to him sooner, implying that he can't wait. The only sacrifice that he is interested in is your own soul. The ultimate insult in a way. If he agrees to the deal you get what you want but you will never see it done. You've only insulted him with your actions, Kisa."

"What do you know of the Shinigami?" she demanded.

Sinner removed a circular object from his cloak and showed it to her. When Kisa saw it her eyes widened and she moaned slightly. "This is proof that I'm an acolyte of the Shinigami. Do I honor him with my actions, I don't know, but I do know that your actions were only an insult. Just because he is the God of Death doesn't mean that he hates life. Why else do you think that he only accepts deals from the living and not the dead? Life is the thing he is taking there, not someone's soul."

Vain studied the object Sinner had, it was a simple circle of polished stone the only detail on it was the distinct symbol of an hourglass made in black lines. He brought his attention back to Kisa when she said something.

"Then kill me. Let that be payment for what I've done."

Vain shook his head as he let her go. "No, you'll live but you'll live the life that the women you killed didn't get. Live it for them and maybe you can find repentance and forgiveness when you enter the halls of the Shinigami at the time of your death."

"I agree," Sinner said, "and I'll do all I can to make sure that you stay on the correct path."

Vain looked at the two before saying, "Ever think of going to Konoha?"

* * *

Jutsu list:

**"Earth Style: Earth Wall!" **A wall of earth rises from the ground.

******"Earth Style: Rose Vines!"** Vines with thorns on them come out of the earth and attack your opponent.

**"Fire Style: Soaring Flame Bullet!"** Super fireball!

**"Earth Style: Rising Stone Spears!" **Lots of stone spikes rise form the ground.

**********"Lightning Style: Physical Thunderclap!" **The force of a sonic boom slams into the opponent.

******"Fire Style: Pillar of Flame!" **Fire pillar... what more do you want?

******"Fire Style: Seven Paths of Sin!" **One puppet in the middle and six in a circle around it to use. Causes a massive fiery explosion.

**"Earth Style: Pillars of Tartarus!" **Causes three massive pillars to rise while branching stone spikes in random directions.

Super cool, I'm done. If I had stopped putting this off i would have been done soon but I decided to play Diablo 2 instead. Speaking of which, I'm thinking of making a Diablo 2 Fanfic, mind telling me if any of you would read it?

See you next time,  
-Judgment


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: Again, I don't own Naruto.

I'M SO SORRY EVERYONE! I've been meaning to get this chapter down and out fro the past four days but with all the things that have been going on I just couldn't find the time to just sit down an write. I'll make up for it by trying to get another chapter out with in the next three days.

Thank you everyone that commented on the last chapter and told me you liked it. I was in fear that the fights weren't long enough but it seems that that fear was miss-placed. I only hope I'm not relying on you all's imagination too much at some points. But none of you complained about it so, Yeah me. I'm working my a$$ off trying to get all of the OC's that haven't been in the story in the story. I apologize but right now, I wont add anymore OC's until after the Wave Arc but I'm still and always will be accepting OC's. So submitt away. Some OC's make a short appearance in this chapter and chances are good that the male will be in the Wave Arc along with maybe a few more appearances, and maybe just maybe I'll add a load of them durning that Arc, I'm still debating it.

In this chapter Vain make's it back to town... just read it.

Enjoy!

* * *

Hazama looked down to Saya's sleeping form again. He and Maru had moved her to the inn at Tokagokai and after telling the Genin team the story of what happened they finally got to sit down. Vain had said that he would escort the Missing-Nin to Konoha...

(Flashback)

"I'm going to take them to Konoha."

Hazama looked up form Saya's face and asked, "What, right now?"

Vain nodded. "The sooner to better, anyways I have to get my arm checked out," Vain said as he tried to wrap his arm. It was hard going until Sinner walked over and took the Wrappings from him.

"I'm not apologizing," He said as he wrapped Vain arm.

"Not asking you to," Vain said. He turned back to Hazama, "There was only so much I could do for it since I'm not a Medic-Nin and Minato is always in a rush at the end of the day, I'm hopeing he'll just pass these guys on through with probation and that's it."

"I doubt it, but it's worth a try," Maru said.

Vain grunted when Sinner tied the bandage off. "Alright, you two take Saya back to the inn. I'll head straight back to the Village. Should make it back by around 8:00PM."

"That fast?" Maru asked.

"Yeah, it'll be pushing it but I think these guys can keep up."

(End Flashback)

"He should be getting there about now shouldn't he?" Maru asked.

Hazama nodded. "Yeah...Wait, what's the date today?"

"November 3rd, why... oh shit."

Hazama looked out of the window and said, "Today's the day the village celebrates that death of Vain's Clan."

* * *

Vain relaxed slightly at the sight of the village gates. It had been a long run and they were delayed by about three hours. It turns out the Lui wasn't the strongest of Nins. He remembered his short conversation with him after meeting up with everyone.

(FLASHBACK)

Vain dashed into view and the second he spotted Saya he rushed over and checked her over. After a few tension moments he slowly turned to Lui and stated, "Hazama didn't kill you."

"He didn't."

"The only reason you're alive at this moment is because she isn't hurt."

Lui nodded.

(END FLASHBACK)

Then there was that event with Kisa...

(NEW FLASHBACK)

They were making good time but after five hours one of the members of the group started to lag behind. Kisa was breathing heavily and it was easy to see the exhaustion in her face. Vain was about the call for a break when Sinner slowed abruptly.

Kisa looked at him with a glare when he came back to her. "I know I'm slowing you all down."

Sinner mover in front of her and said, "Get on."

"What?"

"You're exhausted and won't be able to continue for much longer, get on."

Kisa, not wishing to make Sinner anger, got on to his back and soon Sinner was back up with the rest of the group.

Shuichi grinned and said, "So, you do have a heart."

Sinner grunted.

(END FLASHBACK)

"Let's hurry," Vain said as he ran through the gate, throwing the guards an orders scroll. He guided them through the town quickly but he avoided any questions that were asked about the ongoing celebration. They soon found them selves in the Hokage's office.

Minato looked up from his paper work and after looking at the Missing-Nin he said, "Vain, what part of execute don't you understand?"

"Sorry, I'm having memory loss from an explosion that I was in the middle of."

Minato sweat dropped. "I take it you want them to stay here?"

Vain nodded.

Minato sighed. "What are your respective villages, a little about yourselves, and the reason for leaving? Let's start with you Green hair."

"My name is Lui Tanaka. I was originally part of Iwa, I don't share the same hate as the rest of the people from Iwa, and I guess I specialize in physiological manipulation."

"How good?" Minato asked Vain.

"Good enough the capture Saya Uchiha in a Genjutsu," Vain answered.

Minato nodded and waved Lui to go on. "I'm not the greatest up front fighter and have little Ninjutsu abilities. I like to think of my self as a family man. I left Iwa because of the death of my Team and the fact that the Tsuchikage wouldn't do anything to avenge them. I'm hopeing that I can find residence here, since this village is well known for its team relations."

"Your turn White," Minato said while pointing at Shuichi.

"My name is Shuichi Kobayashi. I'm a power house when it comes to Ninjutsu and Taijutsu. I don't like to use Genjutsu all that much. I left the village of Getsugakure because they viewed my killing of a band of bandits that killed my family as inhumane. I hope to become a Nin of Konoha."

"He said he was good at Ninjutsu?" Minato asked Vain.

"From what Maru Hyuga told me, he spammed several high chakra use jutsu easily."

"Right, now you missy."

"My name is Kisa Shirinui. I'm originally a Suna nin. I left because I killed thirteen women."

"Defined, killed," Minato commanded seriously.

Kisa fidgeted a little but answered, "I killed them in a mis-belief that I was dedicating their souls to the Shinigami."

"Mis-belief?"

"I don't believe that I did anything to honor the Shinigami with my actions."

Minato stared at her for a few seconds and then asked Vain, "What can she do?"

"She has a bloodline that allows her to stop her opponents from using chakra. It seems to have a time limit at the moment but that might be fixed in the future. The only problems that come from this bloodline is the fact the she can only effect people in a radius around her and she affects friends and foes alike. She also can't use chakra period due to this bloodline."

"Your turn-"

"Sinner is my name."

"Alright," Minato said slowly, "then you may say you piece Sinner."

"I come from Suna. I'm a puppet master at the level of Sasori of the Red Sand. I left my village because it was my time to go."

"Sasori's level?" Minato asked.

Vain answered, "I can confirm this. I am the one that fought him."

Minato nodded and then when into a deep thought. He face was serious but blank at the same time. He turn to Vain slowly and said, "Will you take responsibility?"

"Full reasonability."

"Alright, then you four will be put under a three month probation period. When that is done you four will make up team Blood. I want you four to understand just what Vain is risking with all of you. If even one of you four commit a crime both you and Vain will be tried and punished for it. If you punishment is death, then Vain dies to. He is risking his life to keep you four here, don't break that trust he is putting in each of you."

"Thank you, Hokage," they each answered.

"Neko," an ANBU appeared, "take them to safety house three."

After they left Minato looked at Vain and said, "Not a good night to come back."

"I have suffered this village's hate my entire life, I think I'm use to it."

"Your students will be happy to see you back."

"How were they?"

"They have a great teacher. In my opinion they're ready for some Ninjutsu training."

"I figured as much, it's only been two days and they're ready, you really are the best at teaching manipulation."

"Flattery will get you every where. Kushina wants you to come over for dinner."

"Can't."

"Vain, they wouldn't want you to do this every year."

"You're right, they would rather me dead," Vain said as he disappeared.

"Damn it," Minato said with a sigh. Vain always did something like this this day. Minato knew exactly were he was too and that was the worst thing about it. Vain would be, at this very moment, looking down on the empty graves of his parents, sisters, brothers, cousins, aunts, uncles, everyone that he could have called family. If a family is what they could be called. It was no secret that Vain was hated by his family. He suffered daily humiliation, beatings, and degrading but he still held an undying love for them.

Minato could remember the time he visited just before his acceptance of the Hokage position. He meet the entire head family but when he saw Vain watching from a distance away he couldn't help but feel sorrow for the boy. He'll never forget when Vain's mother yelled that she wished he was dead and he simple replied, "I love you."

Vain spent this day every year alone wrestling with his sorrows, it was this day that he could let his pain show and his tears fall. Minato stood abruptly and said, "Not this year."

* * *

Rain. It never failed to rain this day as Vain let it soak him to the core. It was a curse and a blessing. The curse came from the chills that it gave him but in a since even that chill was a comfort because it reminded him that he was nothing more then human. I reminded him that the world didn't rest on his shoulders, that even the mighty can find weakness and even the strong can suffer pain. The blessing came from the fact that he could never tell if he was crying. He never once let a tear leave his eyes but from the way the water ran down his face it at least gave him the look of tears. Was something wrong with him that he couldn't shed tears, he didn't know but as he looked on the graves stones that marked the empty graves and the names that were engraved in the rock he felt a sense of... was it relief, hate, no. He felt empty.

The nothingness was cold and it truly scared him a little. Would he feel nothing if his loved ones died? He hoped he would at least feel something. He stole a glance at the moon and saw that it was full, beautifully set in the storm clouds.

* * *

Minato never knew what to feel when ever he walked through the celebration that happened this night. He felt joy that his village survived a traitorous attack from a powerful clan, but he also felt sad because it was his friend that suffered from these very people that now danced and drank the night away. He could at least be happy that the people put an end to their yearly practice of hunting down Vain, though they only stopped because he, Minato, threatened to try everyone part of those mobs as traitors on the grounds that they were attacking his Nin.

Thou Minato's feelings were mixed on this day his wife, Kushina's, were very clear. She hated this day unlike any other in the village. He had to physically hold he back one year the people decided to burn an ephalgy of Vain. He still entertained thoughts of what would have happened if he had let her go and many times since, wished he had.

Minato smiled when he caught sight of some Shinobi that he recognize.( Author note: He's only human can't expect him to know everyone he commands). The man, Daisuke Nakamura, was wearing a black Male kimono with wood sandals on his feet. He had purple hair, amethyst eyes, and a scar that ran from the base of his jaw, over his right eye, and into his hair line. He was a lean man and if he wasn't taken he would most certainly have been in the Kunoichi Magazine Top Ten.

The women, Hitomi Miyoko, next to him showed the signs of pregnancy but still managed to look beautiful in her red kimono. Her red hair and cerulean eyes worked well with each other and only brought out her beauty.

Minato waved as he walked past them and they smiled and returned the wave. Minato wished he could have stopped and talked to them but he had a mission to do. Minato searched high and low for the people he was looking for but he was only drawing up a blank. He hared could it be to find three girls? He sighed as he sat down at a side vendor and looked over to the commotion that was coming from another group that was here. Minato nearly slapped himself. It seemed that the rookie Genin were having a celebratory meal together and now he remembers distinct ally his son telling him about it.

"Ai, Ami, Kitara," he said as he walked over to the group.

All the kids turned to look at him and only the three he called and his son didn't drop their jaws. Ami grinned and said, "You needed something, Hokage?"

"Yes, I need you three to come with me right now, it is very important."

"Can we come," Kiba shouted out.

Minato frowned, "No, only these three are needed."

"Oh, come on Dad," Naruto whined.

"I'm sorry Naruto but this doesn't involve you or the others here."

"Is this about Vain-Sensei? Is he alright?" Kitara asked.

Minato held up his hands and said, "He's fine, but there is something that I need you're help with, you girls do know who' family was killed this day, right?"

Ami, Ai, and Kitara all got a serious look in their eyes and stood up from the table. "Where are we going?" Ai asked.

"Follow me," Minato said as he walked away. He stopped and said while looking over his shoulder, "And none of you had better follow, that goes double for you Naruto."

Minato walked swiftly through the streets, the girls following close behind. He knew that they were worried but he couldn't talk right know in fear of causing the villagers to follow. He picked up his pace when he saw Kushina waiting at the foot of the stairs that climb up the Hokage Mountain. Neither said anything when he walked past and she took her place at his side. The girls continued to follow until they got into the forest on top of the mountain and Minato stopped walking and turned to them. "The first thing I'll tell you is that Vain is fine. He even got the village some new Shinobi from his mission. The reason I'm having you three follow me is because I want to help Vain in a way that only you three and a few others can help with."

"What would that be?" Ami asked.

"This is the anniversary of the complete destruction of his family. Don't get me wrong, Vain doesn't like his family, but they were still people that he cared about. The biggest problem that came from the deaths of his family is that fact that Vain is scared that he can't love others. He has hidden this fear well but both Kushina and I have noticed it at times."

"So, you want us to help show Vain-Sensei that he can love?" Ai asked.

Kushina answered, "In a sense, yes. Vain may have chosen of you to be on his team but you all have become the family that he never got to truly have. I'm sure that most families would find themselves jealous with the relationship you three have with each other and with Vain. You three have the relationship of sisters and with Vain you have a Father or a big Brother like figure. You three, more than any others, are the ones that can show Vain that he can love others."

The girls nodded. It was true to each of them, they each have become someone important in each others lives and it was Vain that made it possible but that's not all, unlike most Jonin-Sensei Vain trains them in what they need and not what they want. He is giving them the skills they need to survive, he's watching out for them in that way.

* * *

Vain didn't move when he heard a voice call out, "So, this is where you are." Minato walked out of the forest and stood next to Vain. "You know that you're my best friend, right?"

Vain nodded and said, "As you are mine."

"So, what am I, chopped liver?" Kushina said as she walked over to the two.

Vain chuckled. "I count you among my closest friend, Kushina."

"Just remember that she is taken," Minato said with a grin.

"Could always get a divorce," Vain said offhandedly.

Minato put his hands to his face in horror, "She wouldn't."

Vain raised an eyebrow and asked, "Why not?"

"Because she loves me too much," he said matter-of-factly.

"And she couldn't love anyone even more?"

"Nope."

"What about me?"

"You're too young," Minato said just before his face was smashed against the ground. "What did I do?" he asked in a defeated voice.

"I think you just called her old," Vain answered smartly.

"Sometimes I wonder why I married you," Kushina muttered.

"Because you love him," Vain answered.

"More then anyone else," Minato added.

"Oh, and what if I did love someone else more then you?" she asked.

Vain and Minato looked at each other and after a few quiet moments they said at the same time, "Jiraiya."

A loud bang was heard and afterwards Kushina could be seen muttering to herself with Vain and Minato crushed into craters. Vain gowned and asked, "I thought you said she loved you?"

"I've found that when he is mentioned women gain super strength and attack any man in the vicinity, "Minato answered. "And yes she does, If you look, my crater is 2 inches deeper then yours."

"And that means she loves you?"

"Exactly," Minato answered with a grin.

Kushina put her hand to her head while shaking it and said, "Seriously, you two could act a bit more serious."

Minato sat up and said, "But what's the fun in that? Besides, this is the only time we can be silly."

"Too true," Vain said as he climber out of his crater.

"Man, Vain-Sensei, she hit you hard," Ami said as she walked out of the forest with Ai and Kitara.

"I personally think that Minato was right about the super strength thing," Vain said while rubbing the side of his head.

"So, do you have anything planned for tomorrow?" Ai asked as she sat down next to Vain.

"Yeah, I kinda want to start learning some Ninjutsu," Kitara added in as she sat down on the other side of Vain.

"It' a good thing that that is what I planned to start teaching," Vain said.

"You want to know something funny, Vain-Sensei?" Ami asked as she looked at the grave stone.

"Sure."

"We've only been on this team for a little over two weeks and I feel like this is the family that I always wanted," she said as she turned to him.

"I agree. I find myself much happier here with this team then I ever did with the Hyuga Clan," Ai said.

"I feel safer," Kitara said with a smile.

"I guess we really became a true family when we became a team," Ami said with a smile.

Vain smiled, looked up into the sky, and said, "Thanks girls, for everything."

* * *

Done! I hope this explains a little bit more about Vain and to anyone who might be wonder why this Fic is called what it's called, You'll see the first sign of Rorex in Wave.

I hope to get the next chapter out soon, maybe pull a late nighter.  
See you next time  
-Judgment


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, yet again.

Hahahaha, I told you all I would have another chapter out and guess what, it marks the begining of the Wave Ark. This is going to be way different form the true Wave Ark but I believe that you all will love it! I had an idea last night and I wnet with it, I have officially add all the current OC's that have been submitted, well all but one, but I had finished this chapter by the time I found the submitted OC. Don't worry fallen-wolfborn your OC will be in the Fic, but I wont be able to get him in until after the Wave Ark is done. Maybe I'll have a short appearance, I'll think on it.

Now to anyone that might be saying that Vain is over powered, I'm going to explain later in the story about that assumption and I'm going hint at it now, it's like comparing a Genin to a Jonin, that's all. I applaud anyone who understands that.

I again appologive about the long time it took to get the last Chapter out, I got a new computer this christmas and it, and many played video games later, caused me to be late in writing the chapter. So, to all of you readers out there, I'm sorry(said in a squeaky voice)

If anyone has noticed, I have a lot of fun writing the parts between Minato and Vain but I have no clue if you all find them funny or not. If any one tells me I'll give them a cookie. Yes, a delicious cookie.

**IMPORTANT STUFF RIGHT HERE (Below)**

**1) **I have to know if you readers want Zabuza and Haku to die, live and go back to Kiri, or live and go to Konoha. It your choice readers!

**2) **I'm getting tired of calling all of you readers, "readers," So I'm having a compitition. Submit a name that you all want you readers to be called. The winner will be what I call all of you readers in these information thingys!

**3) **The oppertunity to tell me If you want your submitted OC to have their own special Ark, alone or with Vain, or both, is still availiable. There are some that I've already thought up and a few will take place after the Wave Ark. Just tell me If you want this, and if you have an idea on what the special Ark should be about.

**4) **I love all of you :D

**5) **Happy late christmas!

In this chapter Sinner tells Vain and Minato some disturbing new, Vain talks to Anko, and the team to go to Wave is assembled.

Enjoy!

* * *

Three weeks can feel like a life time when your time is mostly taken up by training and the only free time you have is spent in the village hanging with friends, shopping, and anything that sounds like fun. Kitara, Ai, and Ami have been busy for that period of time, though the results are far worth it. Could it be because of their desire to get stronger and defend their loved ones, a devoted Sensei teaching them, or a mixture of both that has stimulated their growth? During these three weeks many things happened and among the most monumental to the girls was when they officially moved into Vain's home. They had spent an entire day moving things from each of the girl's apartments and situating the girls' rooms. Because of this though their training started an hour early and ended at the same time. This extra hour was applied to the middle of the day and used solely on the agility, flexibility, and grace of the girls. The results were clear in their Taijutsu when they started to flow and strike with more precision. They couldn't be happier with their training and their Sensei.

Vain, on the other hand, has had more pressing matters during these three weeks. The first was when Sinner told him and Minato disturbing information dealing with the Kazekage.

(Flashback)

"Sinner, Weasel said that you wanted to speak with Vain and myself," Minato said as he leaned back in his chair in his office in the Hokage Tower.

"Yes, it involves two things in particular," Sinner answered.

"And those two things would be?" Vain asked from his leaning position against the wall to the right of Minato.

"The first is a question. Are ether of you aware that the son of the Kazekage, Garra in his name, had the One Tailed Shukaku sealed inside him?"

Minato answered in a serious voice, "No, I wasn't aware of this and if it' true-"

"Then that boy has the ninth most powerful being sealed inside him just waiting to be used," Vain finished. "Does the boy have control of it?"Sinner shook his head. "No, the boy has very little control of it. Shukaku did give the boy a nice little gift though. He has the ultimate defense. The boy is always caring sand on him, usually in the shape of a gourd on his back and that sand seems to automatically protect him from any attacks."

"Interesting," Minato muttered.

"The down fall of this is that the boy is very unstable."

"Define: Unstable," Vain said.

"He is obsessed with killing; he seems to have a kind of delusion that it proves his existence when he kills another. The stronger the better. From what I've heard he is a Gennin and is going to participate in the up coming Chunin Exams that take place here. But that boy is the least of your problems."

"What could be worse then a boy that likes to kill and has Shukaku sealed into him?" Minato asked.

"The Kazekage has been acting strangely."

"Define: Strangely," Minato said.

Sinner looked between Vain and Minato and said, "You two know each other well. Moving on. By strangely I mean that he is acting exactly like a Kage should."

"That's strange?" Vain asked.

"No, that's not strange, it's when I see him leave the village in the dead of night that I count it as strange."

"Any ideas on what he's doing?" Minato asked.

"It's no secret that the Kazekage is angered at Konoha for taking a percent of the missions from the Wind Daimyo that would have otherwise gone to Suna. I believe that he is planning something that will be most harmful for your village, Hokage," Sinner said.

"Vain," Minato said.

"Yeah, keep it a secret and the such," he answered as he disappeared in a black cloud. (To any who are interested in what this looks like, it looks exactly like when Zeratul from Starcraft and Starcraft 2 disappears into the shadows in this cinematic: StarCraft 2 Zeratul VS Kerrigan Cinematic Ingame Version Full HD)

(End Flashback)

There was also that meeting with Anko...

(Flashback)

Anko looked around from her position in the forest of death. It unnerved her that she felt some one watching her in this forest because people usually avoided it which was why she liked it here. It kept others away who would other wise judge her and mock her. She spun and pulled a kunai out when she heard a footstep behind her. To her shock the person blocked her kunai with one of his own and when she looked at the person she was farther surprised. The man was Vain Thanatos, the only person in this village that could possibly understand how she felt and knows first hand what it's like to be hated by everyone. She may have put a hateful front on when talking to his students but she actually had a lot of respect and admiration to Vain. She looked up to him in the grand scheme of it all. He was treated worse then even she and he still fought for the very people that hated him, just like she was trying so hard to do.

"The girls told me that you were interested in meeting me," he said with no hate or malice but also no love or kindness, it sounded as if he wasn't sure where he stood with her.

"Why would I be," she said with a humph.

Vain chuckled softly. It was strange to Anko to hear this man laugh at all, knowing his past. It was a soft laugh but she could hear the true sound of hummer in it. "Then I guess the girls were mistaken," he said as he turned away. "Sorry to disturb you, Anko."

"Wait!" she said quickly before he could Shushin away. She waited until he turned back to her before she spoke, "I wouldn't mind the company of such a handsome man."

"I wear a mask, I could be quite ugly."

"Then keep it on," Anko said softly as she stepped over to him. She reached to put her hands on his chest when to her shock he stopped her.

"You don't have to act like that around me. I know that this isn't the true you but only an act you put on t scare people away. If I had responded to this flirting then you have an indication as to what kind of man I am, clever, if I do say so myself," Vain said as he let go of her wrists.

Anko looked at hr wrists and then in a soft voice asked, "How do I know I can trust you?"

"Can you truly trust anyone?" Vain asked. He continued, "Is trust not earned? How can you trust me when I have done nothing to be trusted for? You can't."

"But-"

"But if I promise to never harm you, to protect you, to destroy any that would wish to hurt you, and end any that have; would you then trust me?"

Anko turned away. "Promises can be broken."

Vain smiled and looked up into the night sky. "You know, Anko, the stars are beautiful here in this forest."

Anko turned her eyes to the sky and nodded. "They're why I like it out here. Well, that and the fact the people leave me alone."

"You don't like being alone, do you?" Anko looked at Vain in shock. ""It' strange but when you look at the stars you never see only one. There are always more then one in a clear sky, as if they refuse to appear if they're alone. I believe the same could be said about you, Anko. You refuse to show your real self unless you're with others that you can trust, like Kurenai for example. Tell me Anko, do you judge others by what they do or by the actions they have done in the past?"

Anko thought about it for a moment and then said, "I suppose by the actions that they do. You should leave the past in the past."

"I judge others by past actions. Minato says that I trust people and hate others too swiftly but I have to disagree. If a man has murdered in cold blood in the past is he not more likely top do it again in the present? I don't believe he deserves as much trust as another who has done nothing wrong. Many would disagree with this way of judging others, but for people like you and me, Anko, we have no choice. We have to be able to know the second we meet people if they are going to hurt us, use us, or other such things. I judge from past actions and it is in the present that my judgments are proven true or false."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Tell Kurenai that the wolf's name was Natsume," he said and the Shushined away.

(End Flashback)

Now here he was standing in front of Minato with his team: Kitara, Ai, and Ami, the ever giggly Saya, Hazama, Maru, and Team Lutii: Daisuke, Mai, and Sora. From the serious look on Minato's face he knew that what ever was going to happen was serious.

Minato cleared his voice and said, "Recently Team Kakashi consisting of: Sakura Haruno, Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto Namikaze, and Kakashi Hatake, were assigned a C-rank mission to escort a bridge builder named Tazuna from here to Wave. This was supposed to be a simple escort mission with the small chance of bandit activity, but it seems that Tazuna lied about the difficulty of the mission. On the road to Wave three days out, Team Kakashi was attacked by two Missing-Nin from Water, the Demon Brothers. They are ranked as C-class Nin. After interrogation of the Nin, Kakashi managed to find out that Wave is being controlled by the shipping magnate Gato. These two were unaware on how many Missing-Nin are under Gato's payroll but they made it seem to be extensive, ranging from E-rank to B-rank Nin. It seems that Gato isn't interested in the defense of Wave and bandits have become rampant in the area. Knowing these dangers, Kakashi's team voted to continue the mission.

"I want all of you here to go to wave and assist Team Kakashi in their mission. I won't like to any of you, some of you might die on this mission. I have chosen to place Vain in charge of this mission. The second will be Daisuke-"

"Yeah, I'm second in command!" Daisuke yelled.

"No, you're not, but I do like your enthusiasm. The second in command will be Daisuke Nakamura." As soon as Minato said the man's name did he appear next to him in a flicker. He stood at 5'11" and with his purple hair and amethyst eyes he was a good looking man. He wore a black button up shirt with a black leather jacket on top, the jacket was shut by two buckles near the bottom and had two tails that went out and down to his knees, and his black Shinobi pants, combat boots, and gloves completed his outfit. The man also had a thin scar starting at his law line, going over his right eye, and disappearing into his hair line. His hitae-ate was bound to his belt.

"It seems that we share the same name Daisuke Yagani," the man said with a smile. "For the time being call me Nakamura, just to prevent mix ups."

Vain nodded and reached out his hand, "Very well, Nakamura, good to have you on the team. I'll be relying on you greatly."

"Good to be here, I've always wanted to save a county," Nakamura said as he shook Vain's hand.

"The third in command will be Xander Itsuwari," Minato said. He blinked when no one appeared and after a few moments he cleared his voice and said loudly, "I said, the third in command will be Xander Itsuwari."

"Yeah, yeah I heard you the first time," yelled a man as he appeared in a swirl of leaves. Xander had pitch black chin length hair and icy blue eyes. He stood at a height of 5'10" and was lean in his build. He had an amused look on his face. He wore a black leather coat that had an long curved collar, the sleeve went to mid bicep, and ended at his knees, he had a black shirt on underneath and a broad belt around his waist, his black Shinobi pants went down and into his black combat boots. His hitae-ate was tied around his left arm.

"You're worse then Kakashi sometimes," Minato said.

Xander went wide eyed and said, "I don't think any one can be that bad, I at least heard you, I just chose to ignore you. So, which one is the commander?"  
"I am," Vain said as he reaches his hand out. "Is that a problem?"

Xander looked at Vain for a second before saying, "So you're that last of the traitors." He smiled, "I think we'll get along real well." He shook Vain's hand.

"Is there anyone else to bring along on this mission, Hokage," Vain asked Minato.

Minato nodded. "Yes, there is a team that I want you to take on this mission. They are a team made up of Special Jonin-"

"What's a Special Jonin?" Daisuke asked as he scratched his head.

Sora hit him on the head lightly and said, "Would you stop interrupting the Hokage."

He laughed embarrassedly.

"A Special Jonin is a Shinobi that has a skill that they have Jonin like abilities in but the have Chunin and Genin like abilities in their other skills. This is actually a common rank in the Shinobi world," Maru explained.

"Thank you, Maru," Minato said. "As I was saying, I would like you to take this team with you. They were each recently given the rank and I want an honest assessment of their skills and if anything, they will be good to have around if there are a lot of enemies."

"I'll take them," Vain said.

"Good," Minato said before telling his secretary to send them in.

The first in was a young man. He had brown hair that had to length going down around and framed his face and red eyes. He stood at 5'5" and had a lean build but the definition of his muscles showed his strength. He had a tight black shirt on with a white button up on top of it, a black jacket covered that, and his black Shinobi pants went down to his black shoes. His hitae-ate was ties to his left leg and on his right was his kunai pouch.

The second was another young man. He had dirty blonde hair and black eyes. He stood at 5'4" and was sickly thin, which matched to the cough that he let out as he walked in. He wore his hitae-ate around his forehead, he had a dark green shirt on that had random Kajin all over it, he had white bandages around his hands, his black pants were cut off at his mid-shin, and his sandals were a dark brown. His kunai pouch was tied to his left thigh.

The third was a young girl. She stood at 5'1" and with her short purple hair and her white eyes marked her as a Hyuga. She had a red ribbon spin around her neck and her hitae-ate was attached securely to it. She had a tight blue shirt on that got tighter as it went down her arms, she had tight pants that stopped at her knees, and her sandals were a purple that matched her hair. Vain was disturbed by how old the girl looked and even more so by the scar on her throat from when someone tried to slit it.

"These three are Tylin, Kaishen, and Kin. Tylin is specialized in frontal assaults, Kaishen is strategist that could rival a Nara, and Kin here is a very promising Medic-Nin."

Vain looked at them and after a short assessment said, "Xander, you're responsible for them."

"What!" Xander said in shock.

"During the duration of this mission they are your team, understand?" Vain said in a voice that would take no complaint.

"Fine," Xander grumbled.

Vain turned to the three and said, "My name is Vain Thanatos and I'm the leader of this mission. If you have any problems or any special needs tell me now. They were quiet. Vain turned so that he could see everyone in the room and said, "Team Kakashi has a three day head start, I want to be in Wave with them in four days. We leave in twenty, meet at the main gate. If anyone is late, you will not only be left but you will be reprimanded. Go!"

Everyone left quickly to gather their things. "Vain," Minato said.

"Yeah, I noticed, but he seems to be loyal to you."

Minato sighed, "Xander is a complicated person. The man blatantly told me that the second I'm not the Hokage he's leaving."

"I'll keep an eye on him."

"One more thing. The Special Jonin team."

"Tylin, from the file I read he is blunt and cares very little for the weak. Kaishen, while a brilliant strategist he is almost useless on the battlefield, but in one on one fights he would be deadly with his abilities in Genjutsu, very sickly, and forgets damn near everything if he doesn't deem it important. Kin, from what I've seen she is a near perfect Medic-Nin but she is an outcast from the Hyuga clan Branch Family and doesn't have a seal, interesting to say the least. There were discrepancies with her parent's deaths where she showed very little care from what I can tell, her loyalties are questionable, and that scar on her throat, I say nothing in her medical files that explained it. All in all, I have to say that while the boys are somewhat loyal, they would leave without a second thought is the girl, Kin, left. They're like a family in that way. I'll see what I can do during the mission and keep my eye on them."

Minato nodded and said, "Good luck Vain, I have a feeling you'll need it."

* * *

Finally got to this damn Ark. I've read some Fics where they get to and done with this Ark in like 2 chapters. Not in this one, oh no. This Ark will take at least 4 chapters, max 6. I hope no one is mad about that and I'll try to keep it interesting.

I hope I didn't get to this Ark in too short of time because I believe most Fics wait about one month, Fic time, before doing it. What have the girls learned in their training, (snickers evilly) we'll see.

The list of people that are going to Wave are: Vain, Kitara, Ami, Ai, Daisuke Yagani, Sora, Mai, Maru Hyuga, Hazama, Saya, Daisuke Nakamura, Xander, Tylin, Kaishen, and Kin.

Hope you enjoyed the chapter and see you next time

-Judgment


	13. Chapter 13

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

I surprised even myself by getting this one out so fast. I'm going to try to get another one out tomorrow but don't quote me, I'm starting to need a short break

Med-Jai ferret - I believe that deep down Anko wants friends, she just doesn't know how to make them and hold onto them. Since she was trained by Orochimaru she is probably no the best at dealing with people and since she was farth betrayed by him that had a huge effect with her trust of others. Add to that the village's treatment of her you have a person that will put on an act just to see if others can be trusted. I think that the real Anko if far different then any writer and even the creator of Naruto make her out to be. Anyways, I'm sick of reading Fics where she is made out to be a slut, just rubs me the wronge way.

So, I wrote this one pretty fast and I don't promise that it will be the best by the end of it. I'm going to try to start making the chapters longer and if that means that I can't update every day, then so be it. I hope none of you readers mind that. So, right now everyone wants Zabuza and Haku to live and Tri even gave me a good reason for it, but who knows, the poll is still on.(they will probably live and go to Konoha)

A lot of fighting in this one, but keep in mind what kind of people they are fighting and why I don't do a lot of detail on the Jonin(Just imagin a slaughter). If I don't have any of your OC's fighting in the correct style tell me immediately so that I can have them fighting correctly in the future.

This chapter VAin and the group make it to Wave, but the run across a bandit group.

Enjoy...

* * *

Three days had passed quickly for the group as they raced to Wave as fast as they dared. Vain had set a good pace that, while tired the Genin, left the Jonin with more than enough energy to fight anything that might come up on their travels. Vain, Nakamura, and Xander had decided the first day to separate the large group into three different teams. Team Vain consisted of Vain, Saya, Ami, Kitara, and Ai. Team Nakamura had Nakamura, Maru, Daisuke, Sora, and Mai. The final team was Team Xander which had Xander, Hazama, Tylin, Kaishen, and Kin. Vain had give Hazama a warning and an order to watch out for his other teammates and to report anything that might be considered suspicious. The Genin in the brought a new perspective to the group because of their excitement of having a mission outside of the Village, but also a foreboding sense of fear of what might come.

The group, now at the middle of the fourth day, found themselves on the move. It was easy to see that everyone was on guard; they had been ever since they entered into Wave. The crossing of the body of water that separated the mainland from the island was interesting and stealthy with the Genin being carried on the backs of the more experience Jonin over the water. Vain signaled a stop and both Nakamura and Xander came over to him.

"What's the problem?" Xander asked impatiently.

"Do you smell that?" Vain asked.

Both Nakamura and Xander channeled some chakra to their noses and immediately noticed the slight scent of sweat, waist, booze, and sex.

"Smells like a bandit camp," Nakamura said softly.

Vain nodded while Xander exclaimed slowly, "Shit. We have to help them."

Nakamura smiled and said, "And here I thought you were a heartless bad ass."

"Hey, I'll never pass up the chance to kill something."

"Prepare your groups," Vain said stiffly. "Xander, have Kin ready to perform medical treatments as needed. I'll have Saya ready to comfort the women."

"What about the Genin?" Nakamura asked.

"Daisuke, Sora, and Mai have each already had their first kill but I would still keep a close watch on them. My team on the other hand hasn't had their first, looks like today is as good as any."

"As good as any?" Xander mocked. "You know what those bandits have and are doing. Today is by far the easiest."

Vain nodded and said, "A fine point. Alright, Xander, I want you and your team to focus on securing the prisoners. Nakamura, we're to the south of the bandits, so your team will attack form the west, mine from the east. Xander, go from the south but remember that your priority is to get the prisoners."

After getting their acknowledgements, Vain signaled a break and went over to his team but before he could say a word Saya asked, "Is it what I think it is?"

Vain nodded and said, "You know your position then. Girls," Ami, Ai, and Kitara looked at him with determination in their eyes, "we're about to attack a bandit camp. You're going to see things that you wish you hadn't and you will have to kill today. Killing a real person is much different from killing a Genjutsu. You will kill your enemy on reacting and your going to feel terrible about it but I'll tell you right now that these men deserve it more that any other. It never gets any easier to kill another but for every enemy you kill you save another's life, may they be civilian or a comrade. After this battle don't hesitate about talking to me, Saya, or any other Jonin here. We've all gone through this and have all gotten help about it and not it is our turn to help you three. Understand?"

They nodded and Vain turned around and signaled the other teams to move out. Team Vain moved around to the east, the trees providing great cover and it was too soon that the team started to hear the noises of the bandit camp. Vain saw the girls tense but he could do anything for them; it was up to them now. They creped closer and were soon positioned in the trees that surrounded the east of the camp.

* * *

Dark was a bandit and he was damn proud of his career. He had been a bandit for about seven years and in bandit years that was like fifty. He loved his life. He got to eat as much as he wanted, drink as much as he wanted, and when he wanted to scratch a certain itch he always had a selection of women to choose from. At this moment he was actually looking over the fine selection that his group had at this very moment. While some of them were missing, being use by another bandit, he still had about fourteen to choose from.

Dark grinned when he laid his eyes on a small girl that was in the group. She was probably only ten to twelve years old, just at the age he liked them. He didn't wait another second before he walked over, causing the women to terrible and hide themselves, to her and snagged her by her long brown hair. She scream as he dragged her away and it only turned him on even more. He simply loved it when they screamed for him to stop.

"Hey, Dark you find one you like over there?" called out one of Dark's friends.

"Yeah, she's just the way I like them," he yelled back as he tromped toward the woods. Unlike the rest of the bandits, he didn't like doing his business in front of the others. The girl clawed at his hand but with a quick whip of his hand she stopped with a cry of pain. He continued into the woods for a small bit before he threw the girl down onto the ground. He could feel himself grow hard at her tear stained face and he didn't wait another minute before he started to work his pants off. He never noticed the girl's eye's widening in shock before he felt something cold press into his back. He felt warmth spread over his entire body and his eyes got heavy as if he hadn't slept for years.

The girl watched as a black clothed man slow lowered the bandit's body to the ground and let out a shout yelp when a hand covered her mouth. She relaxed when she heard a female voice say, "It's alright you're safe now." She felt another hand pinch her neck and before she knew it she was sleeping.

Vain rushed over to Saya and the girl and asked in a whisper, "Is she alright?"

"Yeah, just in shock. I put her to sleep.""I'll leave a mud clone to watch over her," Vain said as a figure grow out of the ground and soon took the same form as himself. "Girls," the girls jumped down from the trees, "these are the kind of men that you're going to be killing today.

Show no hesitation and end them quickly, they don't deserve to be among the living." The girls nodded with conviction in each of their eyes.

Vain pulled out a kunai with an explosive tag tied to it and throw it into the air above the bandit camp. It felt like an eternity before it exploded and all eyes in the camp turned to the explosion. Then all hell broke loose.

* * *

Nakamura saw the explosion and burst into action. With Maru, a kunai in each hand, and the three Genin spread out behind them, they rushed into the camp. His Ninjato and Maru's kunai worked in terrible efficiency as they cut a red ribbon into the camp of bandits. The Genin stayed close behind them, throwing kunai and shuriken and also ending any bandit that came at them from the sides with brutal efficacy.

Daisuke hated anyone that would dare harm a women and what these bandits had done, he felt no remorse as he throw a kunai right into the head of a near by bandit. When one rushed him he didn't slow as he ducked the sloppy swing of the bandit's sword and, with a simple flick of his wrist and turn of this body, he cut the man across the stomach causing his organs to spill out into the dirt. The man didn't scream for long before Daisuke slammed his kunai into the man's neck and pulled out violently into a throw that stabbed into the heart of a bandit that was rushing Sora from the side.

The smell of burnt flesh filled the air as Sora work her fire jutsu's into the large groups of bandit's that attacked her. She may have disliked killing but when it was these types of people she could easily forgive herself. She smiled when she felt a familiar heat radiate from her hair as it turned into flames, the telltale characteristic of her bloodline. Fire jutsu's came to her about as easily a breathing but the chakra use of heating the fire to a dangerous level was what made her save her bloodline's use for certain situations, this was one of them. She watched a kunai fly past her and couldn't help but blush when she say that it was Daisuke that had thrown it and into a bandit that had been charging her. She shook her head and with a call of another jutsu continued her destruction.

Mai struck another bandit in the throat with her kunai and with efficiency that is usually only seen in at least Chunin did she release the kunai and ran over to her next target while throwing three kunai at the bandit's that were next to him. She roll out of the way of his downward swing and jumped up. Catching her hand on his shoulder, she spun herself so that she landed on his back. Grabbing his chin in her right hand and the top of his head with her left and with a burst of strength did she snap the man's neck. She leaped of as he fell to the ground and right when she landed was she running toward her next target. Mai was raise in a militaristic family and had had it engraved into her head that, during the mission, the enemy must die. She did her parents proud by the skill she showed as she twisted and turned around the bandit's weapons and ended their lives.

Nakamura and Maru worked well together as they ripped and tore their way through the bandits. There was never a moment that they weren't in movement and that their weapons weren't ending a bandit's life. They each kept a close eye on the Genin and were impressed by there efficiency and skill. While it was true that they had been Genin for about a year they were skilled for that time period. Was it them or was it that the Genin of Konoha were getting stronger and stronger?

* * *

The second the explosion went off, Xander and Hazama were on the move. Hazama tore into the bandits with a blood lust that was bread by the fact that it could have been Saya that these bandit's had rapped. He showed no mercy as he hooked his blade around a bandit's neck. Jumping to the right, using the bandit's neck as a rotation point, he slashed out with his other hook blade and made it 180 degrees before his blade had cut through the bandit's neck. He went with the momentum and rolled toward a large group of bandit's. "Lightning Style: Physical Thunderclap!" The jutsu roared like thunder and smashed into the group causing bandit's to go flying back twenty yards. Blood leaked from each of their ear from the pressure of the hit, they were clearly dead.

Xander twisted and turned around the enemy with ease. He loved this part of his job. It was in a few short seconds that he was surrounded by bandits. He looked around and a demented grin came to his face. "If you can't change it, enjoy it," he said as he fell back into a taijutsu stance. "Who's first?"

The bandits charged as one but stopped in horror when Xander speared his hand into the neck of the leading bandit. It wasn't that Xander struck one of their comrades in the neck that stopped them it was the fact that his hand didn't stop but speared through the man's neck and out the back that stopped them. Xander ripped his arm out of the bandit's neck and said casually, "Who's next?"

Tylin laughed hysterically as he swung his scythe into any bandit that came his way. It sucked for him that he, Kaishen, and Kin had to secure the hostages but at least he got to be the one that killed to most. The pathetic and weak existences that came at him only mocked his power and angered him to no end. He spun his scythe around and into a horizontal slash and yelled, "Wind Style: Cutting Gust!"

He watched as a blue blade flew off of his scythe and toward the bandits. When it reached them it was like a hot knife through butter as it continued deep into the camp before it dissipated. Tylin stood in pride at the head of a walkway of blood and bodies from his jutsu but his only wish was to end more of the pathetic creature that deluded themselves and said that they were strong.

Kaishen stood next to Kin as she worked on the women that need the most desperate help. Kin's eyes had veins around them signifying that she had her bloodline activated. Kaishen coughed a little as he watched some bandits come at him and the hostages. He didn't even move when one of the bandits sloppily threw a knife at him, missing him by only a centimeter. He weaved his chakra and said, "Demonic Illusion: Wake of Fear." Kaishen watched with a smile as the bandits stopped charging him, Kin, and the hostages and instead stared in fear before they all started to attack each other in brutal and frantic fashions. Kaishen's genjutsu caused the person he used it on to see things that they were scared of, by making so that the thing they feared took the place of their allies he can effectively kill all of his opponents except for maybe one with that single illusion. The only problem that came from it was that his body was too weak to do it more then once and it made it rather difficult to perform any other illusions but with Tylin on a rampage, he saw no problem in using it and now sitting back until the battle, no massacre, was over.

* * *

"Move," Vain said right when the explosion happened. Vain and Saya burst into the camp and brought a rain of death with them. Kitara was close behind them and when a bandit stared to run at her from the side she immediately throw a kunai. She was amazed on how easy it was to kill someone but she shook it off and continued her charge into the camp, throw kunai with deadly accuracy. She didn't stop when a Bandit stood in her way but rushed him at a speed that he couldn't react to. She preformed a taijutsu combo that Vain-Sensei had showed her and slammed her foot into the inside of the knee o the bandit. She spun in the direction that the bandit fell and caught the man's head in her hands. With a quick twist and step around the man's falling head did she snap his neck and let go to continue her advance without slowing a bit.

Ami dive rolled under the horizontal swing of a bandit. She planted her hands on the ground during the roll and sprung herself up towards the bandit's face. She pulled out a kunai and slammed it into the underside of the man's jaw as she flew past. Holding onto the kunai caused her to flip around onto the dead man's back and launch a new kunai at another bandit that was in her range. She felt a swell of pride shoot through her by what she had just done but immediately regretted it when it finally hit her that she had just killed people. She put the guilt to the back of her mind and focused on her mission, she could talk to Vain-Sensei about it after they were safe.

Ai side stepped the stab of a bandit's sword and repaid him with a kunai in the heart. She took what Vain-Sensei had said to heart when he told her and the other two that they would kill and feel bad about it. She accepted it and knew that she would probably feel bad about it but right now she couldn't afford hesitation as she struck at another bandit that came at her from behind. She spun around another bandit that rushed her and reach her kunai up to slit the man's throat. Continuing the spin, she slammed his kunai into the heart of a bandit that was following the previous to closely. She pulled her self up and over the bandit and launched a few kunai into the nearest bandits.

Saya was impressed by Vain's students. the were amazing for Genin that were performing their first kills add to that the fact that they had only graduated a little over a month ago, Vain really did take his teaching seriously. She grunted when she saw a bandit standing over a naked woman and ran toward him. She yelled at Vain, who was right in her way, "Throw me!"

Vain hamstringed his opponent and turned toward Saya. He reached his hands out and she perfectly landed on them with her feet. With a small step and heave, he tossed her told the women.

Saya landed right on top of he bandit but with a grace only a Kunoichi could posses she landed on his shoulder's and smashed a kunai into the top of the man's head. She jumped down to the women and checked over her quickly. She was clearly raped and Saya could, wouldn't, stop the anger that boiled inside her. She shot her head up from the women and saw that she was surrounded by bandits. She grinned and said, "Earth Style: Spears of Earth." When nothing happened the bandits started to laugh but when one took a step toward her a thin spike of earth erupted from the ground and through the man, from his anus to and through the top of his head. The other bandit's stared wide eyed at the sight and could only scream before they too met the same fate.

* * *

Vain looked upon the bloodbath that used to be the bandit camp. There was no chance for the bandits to win and it showed on this land. He was relieved when everyone checked in and reported no injuries. The relief was short lived when Kin reported the conditions of the hostages. Most suffer from only emotional trauma, the women in the group were doing the best they could do to help them but other then Saya none of them had done anything like it before. It hurt him greatly to see his students stumble over what to say to comfort the women but the main thing that he had for his students was pride. They had done far better then he would have ever guessed, though how they're dealing with their first kills was still to be seen.

He had done what he could; healing wise and it seemed that after that some of the women were comfortable with him that allowed him to take some of the burden off of his students, Sora, and Mai. That also allowed Kin to concentrate on the more desperate cases and he was simply amazed by the skill that she possessed. If she worked at it she could be the next Tsunade or, if she doesn't learn to love others besides her two teammates, he might just end up hunting her if she leaves the village. He banished the thought and turned his attention back to the here and now.

"Vain."

Vain looked up and saw Nakamura jump out of the trees. They had moved the women away from the camp, the bloodbath. "Yes, Nakamura?"

"Kin said that we're ready to move. From what the women have told use, it seems that Minato was correct. Gato cares little about the defense of the country and Wave has become a haven for bandits."

"Can we take them anywhere?"

Nakamura nodded. "Yes, it seems that there is a village close to here. It just so happens to be the same village that Team Kakashi was going to."

"Well, we're lucky on that part."

"They even have give direction on how to get to Tazuna's home."

Vain nodded. "Have they confirmed that Gato has hired more Missing-Nin?"

"Yes. Gato is apparently staying in a fort of sorts and has over two hundred Shinobi hired from Iwa protecting it."

"Iwa always did have an abundance of Shinobi but over two hundred that makes this mission near imposable. From C-rank to an S-rank mission, this Tazuna has much to answer for. Kin said we can move?"

"On your order," Nakamura confirmed.

"Then let's get moving."

* * *

It took about three hours to make it to the village. Vain and many of the Jonin ended up carrying the more injured women while the Genin made sure that the other women were alright along the way. The economic strangle hold was clearly seen in the village. Children sat against the side of houses and shops and looked as if they hadn't bathed in a good while. Vain was appalled and promised right then that Gato would die slowly. It was a heartening reunion when the people saw that they knew the women that his group came with and soon tears were falling in joy and pain.

Vain lost count on how many people thanked him and his group and the thanks continued when he pulled out a scroll and unsealed several months worth of rations for one person, but only about two days for the people that truly needed it. It seems that Gato does feed the people but he didn't do it out of kindness. No, he did it to make the people dependent on him. They wouldn't dare rise against the person that feeds them. It was truly a brilliant maneuver and Vain only promise more pain for it.

When the group finally got out of the village they set a quick pace toward Tazuna's home. It was only ten minutes later that a home came into view. Vain signaled a halt and signaled both Nakamura and Xander over to him. "Nakamura, you're in charge until I return."

"Where are you going?" Nakamura asked.

"I'm going to set up a seal perimeter. That will give us some space to relax it will only that me about twenty minutes. During that time I would like you to set watch schedules, Jonin and Genin watch teams, and find Kakashi's lazy ass. I've no doubt in my mind that he sensed us coming and hide so that he won't have to do any work."

"Alright," Nakamura said as Vain jumped off. He turned to the home and signaled the group to follow him. He knocked on the door and it was opened but instead of a person it was an iron pan flying at his head. He easily caught it and looked inside to see a woman with long navy hair; she had another pan in her hand at the ready. "Excuse me Miss, but is there a team from Konoha here?" he asked calmly.

The women blinked and answered, "Yes, who are you?"

"We're the reinforcement team, sent by the Hokage to help Team Kakashi with their mission."

Nakamura could see the women visibly relax when he spoke and he wasn't surprised to see Naruto Namikaze and Sasuke Uchiha step out from the side of the door putting they kunai back into their pouches. Nakamura smiled and asked, "You're not going to throw another pan at me if I come in, right?"

* * *

"He's suffering from chakra exhaustion," Kin concluded after looking over Kakashi.

"Maa maa, it's no big deal. I'll be better in no time," Kakashi said in his normal drawl.

Kin look peeved and said, "You could have die if it was any worse."

He looked at her and eye smiled, "But I'm not now do you mind if I talk to Daisuke Nakamura alone, please?"

Kin nodded and walked out of the room. The room was small but had two beds in it. The beds were parallel with each other and with the window in the middle of the wall opposite the door, it wasn't that uncomfortable of a room.

Kakashi pushed himself up into a sitting position and said, "I surprised that Minato sent one of his ANBU on this mission, especially a Captain, Weasel."

"Well, Inu," Nakamura said, "I'll be leaving if you don't want me here."

"No, no, you're most welcome to stay. I take that you're the Commander?"

"Nope!" he answered and stretched his back by bringing his hands over his head.

"Who then?"

"Vain is and he wanted you and everyone else gathered into the same room by the time he got back."

"Vain is... I suppose he wouldn't take the excuse that I have chakra exhaustion?"

"He would probably ask if you have the strength to read Icha Icha-"

"To which I would answer yes and then he'd say-"

"If you have the strength the read that crap then you can get up and wake," Nakamura finished and started to laugh. Kakashi was quick to join in.

With a little bit of effort and a lot of Kakashi leaning on Nakamura, they managed to get him down stairs and seated in a chair. Nakamura heard some chattering and when he looked at the couch he saw Sakura Haruno talking up a storm to Sasuke Uchiha, who looked as if he just didn't care. Naruto was talking with the other two Genin teams and the other Jonin were watching him, waiting for him to begin the debrief. He also noted an old man, Tazuna, and a young boy that was hiding just in sight up the stairs.

Everyone's eyes turned to the door when it opened and in walked Vain. He stopped when he saw that everyone was looking at him and gave a small wave before saying, "Nakamura, how did you get him-"

"Chakra exhaustion."

Vain nodded. He looked over when he heard Naruto yell, "Vain-Aniki!"

Vain chuckled as he caught Naruto in a small hug before pushing him away and saying, "It's good to see you and your team alright, Naruto but right now I have to ask Kakashi a few questions."

"Alright," Naruto said and walked over to his team beaming with pride.

"Kakashi, what the hell happened?" Vain asked.

"What I don't get a hug?" Vain's glare hardened. "After we were attacked by the Demon Brothers I sent a dog summon with a note to the Hokage telling him that we were going to continue the mission. The next day was fine but the days after that... Vain, Zabuza Momoch is under Gato's pay roll."

Vain shot his eyes over to Hazama and asked, "Think you can take your half-brother, Hazama?"

Hazama gave a confident grin before saying, "I'll beat his ass from here to Konoha if you want me to."

Vain chuckled and then turned back to Kakashi, "Anything else?"

"Yes, it seems that Zabuza has a little help in the form of a fake Hunter-Nin, skill unknown. I figure that with the injures that I gave Zabuza he'll be up and running in about a week with the help of a medic."

"Alright, thank you Kakashi and have you talked to Tazuna about lying to us?"

"Yep!" he eye smiled.

* * *

OVER 200 ENEMY NIN! Judgment you're crazy! I thought you were going to be life like in this!

Now, now, here me out. Gato is one of the richest men in the Elemental Counrties, so it should be to much for him to hire a load of Nin. Besides, it's not like Hazama couldn't take that many with one hand tied behind his back. Okay, so that is an absolute shit ton of enemy, but it goes with the story trust me. Have I ever led you, my loyal readers, wrong?

See you next time,  
-Judgment


	14. Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto... I said it just like it says on the card, can I have my puppy back now...jk!

I'm truly impressed with myself. I simply powered through this one. I would have had it up at 2:00PM but I had some family things to do. SAdly I didn't get any fighting in this chapter but have no fear there will be in the next!

So, last chapter we found out the Hazama is Zabuza's half-brother, I bet only Tri saw that coming.

I really don't have much to say here, well damn...

Enjoy...

* * *

The night was cool, but not uncomfortable as Vain scanned the woods from his vigil on the roof top. He had decided to allow the group to rest while he kept the position of a silent guardian over their sleeping forms. If what Kakashi had said was true about the period of time it would take for Zabuza to be back in fighting condition then he would have to make use of that time by training the Genin into the ground. There was also that fort Gato stayed at. How could he expect his group to take down over two hundred enemy Nin?

There was nothing from his Shinobi training that he could fall back on. It was nothing like attacking a group of bandits because, while Iwa had some of the weakest over all Shinobi, even a Kage can be taken down by Genin if their are enough of them. It was a good thing though that Vain had done this kind of thing before and he had Kakashi, Nakamura, and Xander to fall back on. Each of them had ANBU training to fall back on and Vain would be draw on every bit of it to get this group out of this mission alive.

On the other hand, the Genin would be near useless in an attack against the fort. True, each of them were stronger then the normal Genin but that didn't mean that they could take on any thing above high Genin. They were good but there is a big difference between a Genin and a Chunin and they weren't even close to being ready to battle against a Chunin. If they fought in two to three person teams then the might have a chance against low Chunin opponents but, again, anything above that would be to much for them the handle.

So that left him with: himself, Nakamura, Xander, Saya, Hazama, Maru, and Kakashi. He didn't add the special Jonin to the list because of the three of them the only one that would be of use was Tylin. Kaishen was too sickly and wouldn't be able to keep up with the flow of battle and the onslaught of enemies. He may be a brilliant tactician, no argument there, but that didn't mean anything if he wasn't strong enough to perform his Genjutsu repeatedly and on enemies that weren't bandits. His skill in Genjutsu may have been advanced but if his health never got better then he would forever be stuck at the Special Jonin level. Kin wouldn't be able to come, period. She was amazing at Medical Jutsu but in this type of battle there is not time to deal with the injured. This was the type of battle that the injured ether sucked it up or died. She also got too absorbed into her work which while true for most Medic-Nin, in this battle Vain couldn't spare a team, or even a single person, to protect her while she was with the injured.

The attack on the fort would have to consist of only himself, Nakamura, Xander, Hazama, Saya, Maru, and Kakashi. That would be seven Jonin against over two hundred enemy Nin with skills ranging from E-rank to B-rank. In other words, he didn't expect to come out of this unscathed, in fact he expected that some if not all of them would die, but what other choice was there? Let the enemy attack them? No, because then the Genin would be in danger and the Jonin wouldn't be able to fight at their full capacity do to looking out for the Genin. That left the only choice to an assault on the Fort. Vain banished the train of thought from his mind, not wanting to think about him ordering his comrades and friends to their deaths.

"You look to be in deep thought."

Vain continued his scanning of the tree line and replied, "Just thinking over our options that we have with the enemy Nin."

Saya sat down next to him. "I can take over for the rest of the night."

"I've been up for far longer then a single day before, I fine but thank you for the offer."

She nodded. "You said options for the enemy Nin, what options do we have?"

"From what I can figure, one."

"What's the option then?"

"We attack Gato's Fort."

"Hold on, our only option is to attack the fort the holds over two hundred enemy Shinobi?"

Vain nodded, his eyes were in a glare as he scanned the trees. "I don't like it ether, Says, but it is our only option with the people we have here."

"Yeah, you're right. The Genin wouldn't be able to come and of the special Jonin, the only one that would be able to pull something like this assault off is Tylin. Kaishen could help plan a strategy," Saya suggested.

"He could along with Ai."

"Ai?"

"Yes, she may not be able to use the Byakugan but she does have something else up her sleeves."

"Are you saying that she developed a new bloodline?" Saya asked in hushed shock.

Vain shook his head, "No and yes. I've done many tests with it and have concluded that it is an off shoot of the Byakugan, a mutation if you will."

"That's amazing!"

Vain put his finger to Saya's mouth and said hushedly, "Keep this a secret, Saya. I told you because I trust you, but other then my team and yourself no one else knows, not even the Hokage."

"Got it Vain, you can trust me."

"I know, Saya, I know."

Saya looked up to the full moon. The moon rays light her beautifully and made her look like a ghost of a past beauty. She didn't look away when she said, "Some of use are going to die in that assault."

Vain grunted in response.

"You know that if you even asked for volunteers all of the Jonin would do it in a heart beat."

"I know and that's what scares me. I can fight three enemy Jonin at once, fight Minato to a standstill, and even stand against the most brutal of beatings with out fear but the second a friend has a chance of dying, I hesitate."

"Vain," Saya said softly as she turned her eyes to him, "you can't take on the whole world. You have to ask for help sometimes. You would die for your friends Vain, it's only fair that you allow you friends to do the same."

Vain didn't speak for a few minutes before he said, "Thank you Saya."

* * *

"I'm going to assume that you all know how to tree walk," Vain said as he looked at the assembled Genin. He had volunteered to train the Genin for the remainder of the time before the battle with Zabuza. Of course, he couldn't train nine Genin himself so he had Kakashi as his lovely assistant, after much grumbling of course.

Naruto raised his hand and asked, "What's tree walking?"

Vain looked over to Kakashi who only shrugged his shoulders and said, "I was going to get around to it eventually."

Vain sweat dropped as he turned back to the Genin and said, "Tree walking is the concentration of chakra to the feet. If you apply just the right amount you can "stick" to the tree and walk up. If you add too much you will blow yourself right off and if you add too little you don't stick at all."

Naruto and Sakura where nodding their heads while Sasuke stood with his hands cross acting as if he wasn't listening to the explanation.

"Daisuke, Sora, Mai, am I correct in assuming that you three know how to do this?" Vain asked. They nodded. "Do you know water waling?" They shook their heads. "Alright then I'll be having you three practicing that."

"Water walking for Genin, Isn't that a little advanced?" Kakashi asked.

"My team already knows it and I have faith that Team Lutii will learn it fine," Vain remarked. "Isn't it standard for a Jonin to teach their students tree walking, Kakashi?"

"I was going to teach it to them when I had gotten over my chakra exhaustion but since you're doing such a great job, I might as well let you do it," Kakashi said with an eye smile.

"Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura, my lovely assistant Kakashi here will show you how to perform the tree walking skill. The best tip I can give you is to be calm and don't get frustrated. I will take you more then one day to get this down."

"Your lovely assistant?" Kakashi asked, much to the snickering of the assembled Genin.

"I thought it fit nicely," Vain replied with a chuckle.

Kakashi took his team and walk into the forest. Vain could soon hear the knocking sounds of kunai striking trees.

"The rest of you, follow me," Vain said as he walk over to the water. He didn't stop as he got to the water's edge but kept walking and to the shock of Team Lutii he was walking on top of the water. He turned and chuckled at their faces and said, "This is the next step in chakra control exercises. This is different from tree walking because the fact that water is in constant movement. Water rises and falls and as such you must add or retract the amount of chakra you have applied to your feet. Best way to start is by sitting of the edge of a dock or the edge of a river and simple setting you feet on the water. Add presser when you think you have it and if your foot sinks then you know you don't have it. When you get a little more adventurous, Ami, Kitara, and Ai will help you on the water so that you don't fall in. You girls don't mind helping do you?"

"Nope!" Ami said cheerfully.

"It nice to have a little break after all the running we have done the past couple of days," Kitara replied.

"I agree," Ai said.

Vain nodded and said, "The best advice I can give you is the same as tree walking, stay calm and don't get frustrated." He watched as Team Lutii sat at the edge of the dock nd started to put their feet on top of the water. It filled him with a little pride every time he heard one of his student give guidance about one thing or another. He walked toward a near by tree and wasn't surprised to see Saya lying in Hazama's arms with Hazama leaning against the tree. They were both looking at the water and it seemed that they were just enjoying each other company. Vain jumped into the tree and sat on a branch that was off to the right of them, just to the left of Nakamura.

"Vain, I forgot to tell you yesterday but don't worry about your girls' first kills," Saya said.

"Did you talk to them?" he asked.

She nodded. "They seemed to have taken it better then most. They said that you talk to them about their first kills a couple times before so it was easier to deal with because they knew exactly where they were in the stages of acceptance. They're strong kids, Vain."

"I know, I'm more proud of them then they could ever know," He replied.

Nakamura cleared his throat. "Saya told Hazama and I about you option to attack the fort."

"I'm not asking or ordering anyone to come."

"And we're not giving you a choice," Hazama said. "We're coming, weather you like it or not."

"You could die," Vain countered.

"You're stuck with us," Nakamura cut in, "so stop complaining and accept it."

Vain smiled and nodded. A calm silence came over all of them. It wasn't an awkward silence but one of friendship.

Vain looked over when he heard footsteps and jumped down when he saw Tazuna and Tsunami walking over.

Tsunami was the first to speak, "We wanted to thank you for coming-"

"And apologize for lieing to you," Tazuna finished.

"I can understand why you lied but do you realize just how many people you have put at risk because of the single lie?" Tazuna bowed his head. "If you had simply told your situation to the Hokage the least he would have done would have been asking for volunteers to take the mission the most would be sending several teams of ANBU to take care of this mess." Tazuna's head went even farther down. Vain sigh, "But by lieing you showed that you truly do love your people and will do anything to help them. You have my respect for that so raise your head, your love makes up for your shame."

Tazuna raised his head and it was easy to see that the old man was holding back tears. "Thank you."

"Excuse me," Tsunami said.

"Yes?"

"Do you know a Shinju Mitsurugi?"

"Yes, I do," Vain replied.

"Isn't he the guy that took over as Taijutsu instructor of the academy," Hazama called over from his seated position.

"I believe he is," Vain confirmed.

"That's good that he got to Konoha alright," Tsunami said in relief.

Hazama and Saya started to laugh loudly and even Nakamura started to laugh. Hazama said in between laughs, "If you count getting shipwreck and washed up onto fire as safe then yeah he made it safely alright!"

"That's terrible, is he alright?" Tsunami asked.

Vain smiled, "From what I've heard of him he's fine, doesn't like the Hyuga and Uchiha to much but fine all the same."

"Why doesn't he like those people?"

"I think that called him a beggar or something like that."

Tsunami put her hand to her chin and said, "His style of clothing was very strange."

Hazama, Saya, and Nakamura started to laugh even louder.

* * *

(Four days later-Night)

Eating was an interesting occasion with so many people. It was like a party and Tsunami gave much thanks to Vain and Saya for their help in preparing the food. She expressed even more thanks when Hazama pulled out a scroll and had unsealed enough food for everyone for the next week. It was a relief for her because she had been worrying about what to do for food. Chairs were pulled around the table and were arranged to allow twelve people to sit around it. he Genin were set at a separate table that Nakamura, Hazama, and Vain had built, much to the laughter of Saya and the Genin teams.

There was usually quite a bit of activity and noise going on and it kept spirits high and tonight was no different. It quieted only a small bit when Inari, for the first time since everyone had gotten there, came down stairs while everyone was eating. He stood there for a few seconds before saying something.

Hazama leaned over and said, "Inari, did you say something?"

Inari spoke again but louder, his voice still wasn't clearly heard from all the noise.

Hazama yelled, "Everyone, shut-up!" When it became quiet he looked back at Inari and said, "Now, what were you saying?"

By now Inari was trembling with rage and instead of talking he scream, "You're all going to die!" That got everyone to look at him and he continued, "You all think that you can come here and save the day? Heroes are only good at dying! Gato will kill all of you, so you should just leave and mind your own business!"

"Kid," Hazama said slowly, "I know how you feel."

"How? How can you know how I feel? None of you have ever suffered; none of you know the meaning of suffering!"

"Inari," Tsunami said quietly.

"Do you really think that all of our lives have been easy, that we haven't suffered?" Everyone turned to see that it was Saya that had talked. She spread her hands around the room and said, "Each one of us have things happen in ours lives that hurt us, that caused us to suffer. What gives you the right to say that we haven't suffered?"

Tsunami was about to speak up when Tazuna put his hand on her should. When she looked at him he shook his head slightly.

Saya pointed at Kitara and said, "Kitara here was kicked out of her clan because she isn't a full blooded Uchiha," she pointed to Ai, "Ai was kicked out of hers because she couldn't activate her clan's bloodline," she pointed to Ami, "Ami's parents were killed when her Uncle took control of her clan by force," she finally pointed to herself, "My father beat me near every day until I was eight years old. Never tell us that we haven't suffered."

Inari looked around and saw that everyone was looking at him, some had hurt faces on, others angered, the Jonin kept their faces as stones, their emotions hidden to the world. He stood defiantly and said, "When have any of you starved? Have any of you had to not eat for a day or two? I didn't think so."

"You think you have it so bad," Saya said softly. "Tell me, all of the meals that you have eaten, were they made with fresh meat, vegetables, and fruits?"

Tsunami nodded slowly but she had a bad feeling on where this was going.

"Tell me Inari, what do you think of Vain?"

Inari scoffed, "He's the worst of all of you. He's always answering questions that people ask, laughing, and joking. Tell me, how has he suffered?" Inari thought he had won with that argument but his childish mind wasn't prepared for what came next.

"Vain was hated and beaten by his family from the day he was born to the day he became four years old. When he was four his clan betrayed the village and all of them were killed. He survived because Minato Namikaze, the Yondaime Hokage, begged the Village Council to spare him. He spent the next eight years under daily beatings by the villagers, he lived in a hole under a condemned building, he was hunted for fun by Shinobi, and when he was hungry he would pick through the garbage and was happy when he would find a half-eaten sandwich. Minato is one of his closest friends and I've heard him say that Vain had full knowledge of why he suffered. Do you want to know what Vain said to Minato when he was a child about that treatment he received?"

Inari nodded hesitantly.

"He said, 'If it makes them feel better then let them do it. They lost loved ones and the pain isn't going to go away easily.' He was seven when he said that to the Hokage, a year younger then you, Inari."

"You're lieing about all of this," Inari said slowly in disbelief.

"I wish I was but when I was young I witnessed him getting beaten by my very own clansmen. I had tried to stop them but they attacked me as well. Vain protected me when he had no idea who I was an when I asked him about it his answer was this, 'I've suffered much in my life, Saya, and even at that age I knew that I didn't want others to suffer that same as me.'"

Saya watched as Inari stood still. He looked over at his mom who was crying into his grandfather's shoulder. Could these people understand his, there, suffering?

He and everyone else turned to the door as it opened and Vain stepped in. His eyes were soft and when they swept around the room all he did was sigh.

"I was going to stop you, Saya," he said, "but I believe it was good for Inari to hear it." He walked over to Inari and when he was a step away he crouched down and said, "Everyone suffers Inari and I know from experience that it is hard to accept others help in relieving your suffering. You think that you can do it by yourself and I suppose I should thank you for looking out for my team. You want us to leave because you're scared that we're going to die and you don't want that to happen but let me tell you something. No one is going to die, not under my watch."

"Aren't you afraid?"

"Yes, I am but sometimes you have to fight through your fear to protect the ones you love."

* * *

Next chapter will be the battle of the bridge and I'm so excited. I may even get it done and out tomorrow...I've been doing a lot of next day updates and I'm tell you readers right now that it woun't be happening forever. Eventually I'll get to once a week updates, but for now I have nothing better to do so I guess you all luck out. How dare you all be happy over my boredom, I'll have my revenge!

Naw, I'm just kidding. I might have another one up tomorrow, if I don't I should get one up on Monday.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

See you next time...  
-Judgment


	15. Chapter 15

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto...

- I'm happy that you're enjoying the fast updates. I'm not saying that Kin can't defend herself outside of healing others and I'm very sorry if that was implied. What I mean is this, if she does go with them that would be only 8 of them against over 200 enemy nin. She isn't going to have the luxury to stop fighting and help her injury ally. Since she is a strict close combat fighter she would eventually be over run just like ants over run their prey. She would take down a few of them but other then that she really doesn't have anything that can get her out of that situation. I hope you understand and I didn't mean to make Kin look less of the awesome character that she is. I am wondering if I can do something like a special Ark with her and Vain so that she isn't shy with Vain or at least comfortable with him. I'm also wondering if I can have her slowly change to start liking people, or would that kill the thing you like about her. It would make for and interesting side Ark to say the least.

sco23 - I'm wondering on something that deals with you're team's special Ark. Did you want it done individually(ex: just Vain and Daisuke, Vain and Sora, Vain and Mai) or the entire team together, or both? Just tell me in the reviews. Oh, and what did you think of that cursed seal idea, hit me back on a PM on that one, would hate for the others to know what I'm talking about.

60,000 Words PARTY TIME! In less then a month too, I have way to much time on my hands. Next goal, 100,000!

I'm still and forever will be taking OC's and special Ark requests, just submit or tell me what you want.

I'm very surprised that no one said any thing about the brutality that Xander showed when he killed that bandit. I mean, he shooved his arm through the guy's throat, how much more savage can you get?

Well, now I'm going to talk about the chapter. This one has, by far, the most fighting I have ever done. I hope I've satisfied every person that has an OC fighting in this chapter. There are, I think, nine different fights and yes my head did hurt after I got done thinking of all the different fights. I also just noticed something, there isn't a chapter ten. I kind of just went straight to chapter eleven... oh well, whats done is done.

Well, I truly have nothing more to say, so...

Enjoy...

**Jutsu**

_Taijutsu tech._

* * *

Today was the day. If Kakashi guessed right then Zabuza would be in working order and Tazuna would need more then the single Jonin with him. It was misty, cloudy and an all around dreary day. Vain breathed deep from the cool humid air as he thought about who to send and who to keep at Tazuna's home. He didn't know why but he had a bad feeling ever since he woke up. It was as is you were waking in a forest on a beautiful day but there were no animal noises, it was just creepy. The mist didn't help with that due to Zabuza's name sake, "Demon of the Hidden Mist." It truly was a perfect day for him to fight, everything was perfect for him. A mist was already provided so all he would have to do is add a small amount of chakra compared to how much he would have had to originally add. The cloud coverage promised that the mist wouldn't be going down any time soon.

Vain shook his head and wasn't surprised when he saw Hazama come walking over to him. Vain was sitting in one of the many trees that grew in the area.

"Well, today is a chipper day," Hazama said with a grin.

"Do you think you can talk him out of a fight?"

"No," Hazama answered, "but I should be able to convince him to come to our side."

"Why do you suppose that? Do you two have a good relationship or something?"

Hazama nodded. "We did up until I left Kiri. It was during the time of the Bloodline Massacres. Zabuza wanted to take down the current Mizukage and I was going to help him," Hazama said as he looked out into the misty forest, his eyes were distant as if he was looking into the past time its self. "I should have helped him but then I meet Saya and I left."

"You think he's forgiven you?"

Hazama laughed softly. "Hell no, that guy can hold a grudge worse then anyone I know. He's going to be pissed when he sees me but it should be all to bad if his heard the news about Mai Terumi becoming the new Mizukage after she raised an uprising against the Anti Bloodline forces. She, Zabuza, and I used to hang out together before the civil war started. Even with that information in his head, he's still going to want to kick my ass and rightly so that he does but I'm not going down with out a fight."

Vain nodded and said, "Team Kakashi will be going with you today to defend the bridge. If Zabuza is in fighting shape then that is the place he will go. He may even be there right now, waiting for Tazuna to get there. Kakashi, you're Hazama's backup if things start to look bad."

Kakashi's voice came from above both Vain and Hazama, "Maa maa, I think Hazama will be just fine."

"Better safe then sorry when the opponent was one of the Seven Swordsmen. Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura will defend Tazuna and if any of them even attempts to interfere with the battle or picks a fight with Zabuza's partner I want you to put them in their place right then and there. I want it so that only Hazama has to fight and I hope he won't have to do that but chances are slim in that area."

"Zabuza can get kinda pissed about things that happened in the past," Hazama said while rubbing the back of his head and chuckling.

"You know," Kakashi said, "you remind me of Naruto when you do that."

Hazama froze and his head twitched over to look at Kakashi. "I hate you, did you know that?"

Kakashi eye smiled.

* * *

Kakashi looked at the bridge with a studying glare, something was off. By now the men were already working on the bridge or at least getting things ready for Tazuna to come but right now there wasn't a single noise coming from it.

"He's there," Hazama said next to him.

Kakashi nodded and turned to his Genin, "You three are responsible for Tazuna's defense. If any of you move more then three steps from Tazuna I'll put you down myself, clear?"

Naruto and Sakura gulped and nodded while Sasuke just tsked.

"I don't want to be mean but this is a very serious situation and there is a good chance the ether Hazama or I could die. We don't want to have to worry about one of you three jumping in our way," Kakashi finished before turning to Tazuna.

"You don't have to say anything Kakashi, I know we'll come out of this alright," Tazuna said with a small smile.

When they got onto the bridge Tazuna was quick to run to one of the fallen workers. "Well that explains why there wasn't any noise," Kakashi said.

"What happened here?" Tazuna asked the worker.

"We didn't even see him coming. He was like a demon."

Hazama startled everyone when he suddenly pulled out his hook blades and spun around. He crossed them in front of him just in time to catch a massive blade. Welding it was none other then Zabuza Momoichi. Hazama threw Zabuza away from him before dashing into the mist with a cry of, "Haku, you had better stay put!"

Hazama closed his eyes as he got deep into the mist; he had spared his brother many times before so he knew form experience that his eyesight would do him little good. The sound of ruffling cloths and the swoosh of a sword alerted him to an attack from the left side and, with practiced easy, he stepped back and spun his right blade around to strike at Zabuza while the left he held perfectly to catch the gargantuan sword that swooped down into the hook of the blade. The wind that came off the blade ruffled Hazama's hair and the force caused him to grunt when it hit his sword. His right blade was unobstructed as it raced towards Zabuza's head. A ringing was heard when the black connected with solid metal, it seems that Zabuza maneuvered his hilt into the path of the blade and it connected perfectly with the hook sword the stop it from harming him.

Hazama quickly spun his grip on his blades and it allowed him to bring his right foot around. With a solid kick to the ribs, Hazama sent Zabuza flying away into the mist. Seconds passed before Hazama heard dark laughter echo from the mist and voice say, "You've gotten better, little brother."

"As have you, Nii-san," Hazama said as he swiped at a few kunai that came flying his way.

"You left," Zabuza yelled and Hazama barely managed to block the horizontal attack the came like a phantom out of the mist.

"Would you have had me stay and possibly die?" Hazama yelled back as he pressed an attack with a vicious combo.

Zabuza knocked Hazama away with a sweeping attack with the flat of his blade and followed up with a downward swing. Hazama, who landed on his back, rolled out of the way and swung for a hamstring cut before Zabuza melded back into the mist.

"We could have taken him," Zabuza said hotly.

"I wouldn't have made any difference," Hazama spat back as he attacked.

Hazama's swords were a blur and Zabuza was hard pressed in keeping up. Zabuza was soon nicked on the neck and to Hazama's surprise he broke into a splash of water. Hazama curse but didn't get a chance to move before Zabuza's blade found a home through his back and out his stomach. Hazama coughed up some blood.

"This is how it felt when you left," Zabuza whispered from behind him.

Hazama smiled a bloody smile and said, "Sorry about that," his voice was suddenly behind Zabuza, "but I found this girl."

Zabuza smirked when the Hazama in front of him splashed to the ground. "Water Clone."

"Learned it form the best," Hazama said as he put one of his hook swords to Zabuza's throat.

"You've gotten better, Hazama."

"As have you, Zabuza."

"So, what now?"

"Don't play stupid, I know that this is a water clone," Hazama said as he slit the clone's throat causing it to splash to the ground.

"You really have gotten better," Zabuza's gravelly voice said from behind him.

"As to now, will we continue fighting or will you go back on you contract and help us take Gato down?"

"You know that he has over two hundred Nin in that fort of his, right?"

"I have confidence in our commander and I won't leave until I've help these people. I can't believe you were helping the slim."

Zabuza shrugged, "Pays been getting worse and I need the money."

"You could come to Konoha after this."

Zabuza laughed, "As if your Hokage would allow a Missing-Nin into his ranks."

"He brought in four just half a month ago."

"No kidding? What about Haku?"

Hazama smiled, "You would probably go ape shit on anyone that tried to take her from you. You may make others think that she is nothing more then a tool to you but I was there when you picked her up off the street, I saw that love in your eyes. You're her father by everything but blood."

The mist slowly faded away and Hazama smiled even larger when he finally saw Zabuza. They were each covered in nicks and bruises but they had each seen worse. "Haku," Zabuza called out and when a young women with a swirl mask on appeared he said, "We're switching sides, looks like you get to be on the same sides as your Uncle Hazama, cry baby."

Haku removed the mask and was over hugging Hazama faster then anyone could see. "I missed you."

Hazama patted her back, "It's good to see you too, kiddo."

"Umm, Hazama," Kakashi asked as he slowly walked over, "does this mean that the fight is over?"

"Yeah," Zabuza confirmed, "Haku wouldn't stop pestering about joining Hazama's side when we first heard that he was here. I finally gave in about an hour ago."

"Who did you hear that I was here from?" Hazama asked quickly.

"From Gato. Looks like one of his lackeys heard about it from the people in this town here."

A massive explosion caused everyone to look in the direction of Tazuna's house. "What's happening?" Tazuna yelled.

"An attack," Kakashi said loudly, "we have to hurry!"

* * *

Vain watched Team Kakashi, Hazama, and Tazuna go to the bridge. Once they were out of sight he looked toward Xander, who was standing next to him on the dock, and said, "Think they'll be alright?"

"Hazama is a strong guy; I think they'll be fine. It's us we should be worried about," Xander said as he jumped on top of the roof. Vain followed soon after.

"If we could get Zabuza and Haku on our side then we might stand a chance against that fort," Vain said as he sat down on the roof.

"Haku?"

"Zabuza's fake Hunter-Nin. Hazama told me about her, just in case."

Xander nodded, "Still that would make it, what, me, you, Maru, Nakamura, Saya, Hazama, Zabuza, and maybe Tylin, Kin, and this Haku, against two hundred something Nin. Sounds like even odds to me."

Vain chuckled, "You don't sound worried."

"I always say, 'If you can't change it, enjoy it.' So, even if I die I'll enjoy the fighting while I can."

"Not afraid to die?"

Xander's eyes went distant and he said, "I lost that fear a long time ago. You know we have company, right?"

Vain nodded, "They triggered my seals about five minutes ago. I've already alerted everyone inside."

"How's it look?"

"There are six Genin, twelve Chunin, and twenty Jonin," Vain said as he and Xander stood up on the roof of the house. The others appeared behind them in a blur. "Genin vs. Genin. Kin, Kaishen, and Tylin I'm leaving you three with the Chunin. Jonin, lets take these other Jonin for a run shall we?" Vain ordered and asked. He watched as the enemy Nin walked out of the forest. His numbers were proven right when he counted 38 of them.

Vain jumped off the roof and into the tree and was followed close behind by the other Jonin, ally and enemy alike. Kin, Tylin, and Kaishen dashed off into the forest in the opposite direction that the Jonin went and were followed by the enemy Chunin. That left the six Genin and the six enemy Genin.

"Let's go, we can take them," Daisuke said and took a step forward only to be stopped by Ai.

"Don't underestimate your opponents," she said as she retracted her arm. "We should break into our Genin teams and take them on in groups. Over power them one at a time if we can and if we can't we can take them down with superior teamwork."

"A good plan," Mai said.

"Plan, where was the plan part of it?" Daisuke asked.

Mai sighed and answered, "It's a good plan because it is easily flexible. Most plans fail because they have no room to flex and for the amount of time that we have been given to think this is the best plan that we have. It's easier to work with the people that you have trained with so don't complain and lets go," Mai said as she grabbed Daisuke's arm and started to run at the enemy, pulling him along until he got his feet under himself and began running at her side.

Ai and Kitara rushed their own three Genin at the same time as the other two. They both jump spinned into the air and brought they legs into the nearest Genin to them. They were in perfect sync when they twisted their bodies and brought a back heel kick into the faces of their opponents with a shout of, "_Landing Dragon_!"

Ami finished her array of hand seals and shouted out, **"Earth Style: Earth Wall!" **The wall of earth rose just in time to block the rock spike that shot out of the ground at the other two. She flew into another array, **"Earth Style: Earth Ram!" **The enemy Genin didn't get to finish his hand seals as he was hit by the head of a ram that sprouted out of the ground and sent him rolling and skidding to the side.

Mai slashed at the Genin that dared get close to her. She and Daisuke were in constant movement against their opponents and every so often they would pass off the extra Genin to each other when it started to get troubling. She went for the throat of her enemy but was thwarted by the third Genin. She felt the rush a wind of a kunai flying by her head and turned to see the other Genin that she was fighting jump back to dodge it. She heard a quick, "You're welcome," from Daisuke and grunted her thanks.

Daisuke and Mai jumped back into rolls and sprang themselves back into the air at the same time and the enemy Nin saw a smiling Sora when she looked back down. **"Fire Style: Blazing Magic Phoenix Fire!" **Instead of the normal Phoenix Fire this jutsu blasted out fire balls that were faster and were twice as big. The fireballs exploded against the enemy and soon smoke unsecured the view.

Mai and Daisuke lands next to Sora but didn't have time for congratulations when Ami yelled, "There's a Chunin here!"

Mai was quick to take command of the situation and saw that both Ai and Kitara were attacking the Chunin, to no avail. "Ami," she yelled, "You and your team have to hold the Chunin as long as you can. We'll take care of the Genin."

Ami nodded and raced off to help her team.

Mai and Daisuke regrouped with Sora and turned to the enemy Genin. It seems that of the three that were caught in the explosion, one was killed and the other two were injured to a minor extent. That meant that they had to take down five enemy Genin a hard task for any Genin team.

"Daisuke and I will take on two opponents at once, Sora that leaves you with one so try to finish him as fast as you can, our lives will depend on it," Mai said as she eyed the enemy.

"Right," Sora replied as she channeled her chakra and her hair erupted into flames.

All three rushed into the group and immediately were being pushed to their limits. Mai twisted and turned, dodged and blocked, and kicked and punched as fast as she could push herself. Daisuke was right next to her, but by not growing up in a military family he was hard pressed to keep up the pace. Sora fought as hard as she could and found that she gained little ground against her opponent. These guys were nothing like the bandits that went down so easily and Sora felt a slight feeling of panic come across her.

**"Fire Style: Fire Fists!" **Sora yelled and her fists were engulfed in a wake of fire. She moved he hands into her family fighting style and felt a comfort wash through her and erase the panic that had taken root. She stuck out with renewed passion and fury and with every punch a burst of fire washed off her hands and burned her enemy. The Genin was hard pressed to keep up with the blows that she was raining down on him and eventually he messed up. Sora saw her chance in the form of a slight misbalance in her opponent's weight from stepping on a twig, that was all she needed. She stuck with the speed of a possessed demon and landed a crushing blow onto the Genin's shoulder. She gasped in shock when she felt a stinging pain radiant form her thigh and when she looked down she saw and felt the kunai being pulled from her leg. She gritted her teeth and grabbed the Genin's wrist and with a twist she had his arm around his back and his head pulled back by his long hair.

"Open wide, **Fire Style: Creeping Flame!"** The flames that made up her hair slowed its raging blazed and meandered like a river toward the captured Genin. When it reached him it sped up and crashed into his mouth. His screaming stopped a moment later as Sora dropped his dead body. She turned when she heard a cry and saw Mai just before she smacked into her.

"Mai!" Daisuke screamed and pulled out his sword. He wasn't trained with it but he had to do something. He sung wildly before he was smashed in the face by a wicked punch. He landed close to Mai and Sora and when he got up he saw that Sora's leg was bleeding from a stab wound and Mai was clutching her side, where blood was spilling, fast. He felt an anger surface that was unlike any anger he had ever felt before. How dare these pricks hurt his friends! He snapped his eyes to the enemy and was surprised to see that only two were standing the other two of the four that he and Mai had been fighting were lying on the ground with jagged lines going across their necks, one of them was only staying on by a strap of flesh and skin.

Daisuke sheathed his sword and rushed the last two of the Genin. He threw a high punch but was tripped and knocked onto his back. When the Genin looked down at him, he was grinning.

"What the hell are you grinning about?" one of the Genin yelled.

Daisuke spat a wad of paper, which was smoking, out of his mouth and said, "That."

"SHIT!" was all the unlucky Genin got out before they were engulfed in and explosion of smoke. Coughing could be heard and when the smoke finally cleared Sora and Mai's eyes widened. While the two Genin looked normal there was one thing that wasn't and that was the fact the Maru Hyuga was standing in between them.

"Shit it's a Jonin," one of the Genin screamed before a fist smashed into his face. The other didn't even get to speak because there was already a kunai in his throat. Maru caught the Genin that he sent flying by the face and created a crater with the back of his head. He stood up, still looking down at the Genin, and said, "Never hurt my students."

"Students?" Sora and Mai asked at the same time.

Maru looked up at the two and grinned, "Just kidding, but that would be cool wouldn't it?"

"Dai-Daisuke?" Sora asked slowly.

Maru disappeared in a puff of smoke and when the wind blow it away the girls saw Daisuke standing in the same place, the grin still plastered on his face.

* * *

Ami rushed to help Kitara and Ai. Vain-Sensei had told them that they wouldn't be able to handle any thing higher then a mid Chunin as a group and the only hope she had was that this man was below that level. She ducked as Kitara flew by and looked back to see her land in a pile before picking herself up and charging toward the Chunin. All of them knew that they couldn't let this Chunin get the time to get a jutsu off because if he did, they were all dead.

It was soon obvious that this man was a high level Chunin when everything the girls did didn't work. They had even tried every teamwork technique that they knew as it always ended with them getting utterly crushed by the enemy Chunin. It was at this time the girls tried the wolf pack take down and meet with a painful defeat. Ami had rushed the right side, Ai the left, ad Kitara the back, what they didn't expect was the Chunin speeding up on them drastically. He crushed his left fist into Ami's face so hard that she flew back and rebounded into a tree. She coughed up blood as she fell to the ground. Ai was kicked in the chest and hit Ami in the air who had just hit the tree; they landed in a tangled mess. Kitara threw several kunai, only to have the Chunin suddenly in her face and before she knew it he had he by the hair. He lifted her up and smirked at her watery eyes.

"Pathetic," he said as he threw her to the others. "You three are just pathetic."

That got them to where they were right now. They each hurt so badly that they just wanted to stay lying down. How easy would it have been to give up and let the pain fade into oblivion? How easy would it have been to just lay there and hope that Vain-Sensei would come and kill the Chunin? It was disheartening when you tried your hardest and to still be toyed with. That was all this man was doing, he was toying with them. He could have ended them at any moment but instead he wants to put them in as much pain as he can, he toys with them.

That was when the girls started to think, what would Vain-Sensei do if he was in there position? He suffered and fought against all odds in his life, would he just lay there and let the end come, let the pain be taken away? They had their answer.

The Chunin quirked and eyebrow when he saw that girls start to push themselves up. It was almost laughable when one of them would collapse. "What are you doing?" he asked with a hint of laughter.

"The second we became a team-," Kitara said her eyes closed and sweat dripping from her face.

"-we became a family-," Ami continued, she was holding the left side of her ribs tightly.

"-and it's from that bond," Ai took over saying as she pushed herself to her feet, her knees trembled with the effort.

They all looked at the Chunin and said at once, "-that we find the strength to keep fighting."

"Oh, and one more thing," Ami said grinning.

"What's that?"

"Never give your enemy the chance to channel their chakra, **Earth Style: Earth Spikes**!" Ami yelled as she activated her jutsu.

Kitara finished speaking and charged the Chunin. Something was different though, it was as if everything was clearer, crisper. Like someone cleaned a dirty window. What she didn't know was that her eyes were now entirely black and she had three green tomes spinning in her right eye and two in her left. She could feel Ai to her left and she could see the places were the spikes were going to and were rushing out from. She took the lead as Ai peppered the Chunin with kunai and shuriken and she was soon at him. She ducked a swipe from his kunai and was shocked at how slow it looked. She pulled out a kunai and it slid easily between his ribs and into his heart. She looked at his eyes, filled with fear, and said, "_Wolf Style: Underdog_."

* * *

Tylin looked back at the on coming Chunin and whistled. "Do you think we're far enough?"

Kaishen looked around and signaled a stop. They landed in a triangle with Tylin facing the coming Chunin. "Tylin," Kaishen said, "a little dust, if you will."

Tylin whooped as he swung his scythe close to the ground and cause the wind to pick up dirt. The Chunin stopped and watched as the dust cloud dissipated and were shocked when suddenly tens of the ones they were chasing jumped out of the dust could and into the trees

"Don't go after them, they're bushin," called out a Chunin. They could soon see a singular point from where the bushin were coming from when the dirt cloud dissipated more. It looked like a blur of color and from it many copies of Tylin, Kin, and Kaishen spewed from it.

Blood sprayed everywhere when Tylin appeared out of a bushin and stabbed his scythe into one of the Chunin. Kin leaped from the trees and landed a perfect blow to the back of another's head causing it to explode in a rainbow of blood and brains. Kin's knowledge of the human body allowed her to do many things that the Hyuga couldn't otherwise do, this was simply one of them.

Kin and Tylin handled the Chunin easily and soon four more fell to their onslaught. Kin didn't even seemed flustered when she heard Kaishen cry out in pain and immediately rushed over and ended the life of the Chunin that stabbed him. She always told him that his health was a problem but there was truly nothing he could do. He has been sickly even since even he could remember and she, Kin, had no idea what was ailing him, it was a mystery that she demanded be solved.

Kin crouched down next to Kaishen and went to work on the wound. She didn't even pay attention to the Chunin that were running toward her and didn't even notice Tylin land in front of them and sweep them away in a gust of wind. "Oh, no you don't," he yelled. "No one gets to these two unless through me!"

Tylin slammed the butt of his scythe onto the ground laughing as a shock wave of wind pulsated from the point it touch the ground. Tylin continued his laugh as he sprang forward and wasn't even fazed when a wave of kunai flew past him, across him, and into him. Instead, he spun his scythe and said, "**Wind Style: Wind Dragon**."

With a roar that sound like a mix of a howling wind and the sound of a large predator the head of a dragon bursted from the spinning scythe and flew toward the Chunin. The wind that came off of the spinning scythe produced blue blade that also soared toward the Chunin. The Chunin could only dodge so much before something hit them and the noise was like the roaring of a tornado as blades of wind cut into them and the roar of the dragon shock their bones as in rushed into and passed them.

Tylin watched the Chunin carefully as they all stood across from him and soon a smile came to his face when they dropped to the ground, dead. He walked slowly over to Kaishen and Kin and when he reached the tree closest to them he sat down and watched as Kin finished her work.

When she turned to look at Tylin she grimaced and said, "You should take better care of yourself." She started to pull out some of the kunai.

"I could, or I could just have you heal me up after each fight. Oooowwww, kunai go out not in!"

"Oops, silly me. I'm sorry Tylin," Kin said with innocence in her voice but in her eyes was the look that promised pain if he continued.

Tylin huffed, "Just finish healing me." A few seconds passed peacefully before Tylin asked, "How many Chunin were we fighting?"

"Twelve," Kin replied without looking up.

Tylin looked at the battle field and soon said, "Well, shit."

* * *

"So, any ideas?" Saya asked as she looked at the Jonin that surrounded her and the rest of the Jonin. They had run a good distance and had finally stopped. It wasn't long before the Jonin surrounded them and they formed a circle as to not be sneak attacked.

"We have one for every four of them, look at it this way," Xander said taking a glance at Saya, "we have the advantage."

"He's right."

"He's/I'm what," Saya and Xander said in shock and the same time.

"Vain," Maru said, "did you hit your head running here?"

"Yeah, last I checked one is less then four," Nakamura said.

"No, we take them one on four. Anyone here think they can't handle it?" No one said anything. "Good, then that's the plan," Vain said as he leaped at the nearest group of Jonin.

The others followed his example with Xander yelling out, "That's one hell of a plan!"

* * *

Xander stopped running and looked back at the four Jonin that followed him. They were arranged in the trees and were in perfect position to use their numbers when one of them got too exited and attacked before the rest. He rushed in and when he swung, it went wide. The Jonin looked at Xander for a second before continuing his attack. It never failed that each one of his attacks went wide or missed by only so much. "Getting frustrated?" Xander asked smiling.

"What the yell are you doing?" The Jonin yelled.

Xander moved fast and got behind the Jonin, but instead of ending him he moved his feet and hands to match the Jonin perfectly. When ever the Jonin moved, Xander moved the exact same way. Or was it the other way around...

"What the hells going on," the Jonin cried out.

"I've spent a lot of time studying the Nara and the Yamanaka clans. I've studied their jutsu to be more specific. Not the most legal thing in Konoha, but who cares. It was interesting to find out just how that Nara controlled the shadows and even more interesting to find out that they could control others through said shadows. But I had a thought; what if I could control someone's every movement without using the shadows. That's when I thought of the Yamanaka. They have the ability to enter into someone's mind and control their body, the only problem with that is that your body becomes defenseless. Then I sat and thought, well the Nara use the shadows as connection to controlling others and the Yamanaka can create a connection with others through the mind. That's when I had an epiphany, what if I used the mind connection as the shadows but then I remembered that the Nara can only have their prisoner do exactly as they do. Imagine my happiness when I found out that, after some practice, I could move my body," he took a step and the Jonin didn't move, "and my prisoner's body," the Jonin took a step in the other direction, "separately."

Both Xander and his prisoner jumped at the enemy Jonin, who quickly threw kunai at him. Just before the kunai hit him the prisoner appeared in the way and was soon followed by the wet sounds of the kunai stabbing into him. Xander bolted around the fallen Jonin and stabbed the Jonin that was only two stepped away from the corpse. "Well, damn," Xander said as he watched the life leave the man's eyes, "You know, good help is so hard to find these days." Xander pulled back out his kunai and jumped tucked the attacks that came from the two remaining Jonin. As he landed he sidestepped and hooked the kunai around one of the Jonin's knees and with a pull, cut the tendons behind the knee. The Jonin didn't scream long before Xander slammed his kunai into the man's heart.

Xander turned to look at the last Jonin and said with a chuckle, "You guys really got unlucky with picking me." The Jonin then slit his own throat

* * *

"Did you guy pick me because of my pretty face?" Saya asked as she turned to face the Jonin that followed her. They were all men and each had lust in their eyes as the reached to their kunai pouches.

"Don't hurt her too much boys," the oldest Jonin called out. Saya could tell he was the oldest due to his graying hair.

"Yeah, that kindda just answered my question," Saya said as she sweat dropped. She channeled chakra to her eyes and in the time it took to blink, they change from hazel to pitch black with three hazel tomes in each eye. She dropped into a taijutsu stance and motioned for them to come.

They all rushed in at once and it was only due to Saya's Sharingan that she was able to avoid all of the kunai and shuriken that were cast in the initial wave. Saya knew from experience that most battles between Jonin were ended quicker then anyone really thought. The winner usually was the one that stabbed a kunai into the others throat with out them noticing or was the one that ended it in the first pass. Only silly Genin thought that all battles were done by throwing jutsu this way and that.

Saya slid under the arm of the leading Jonin and let her Kunai slid across his belly at the same time. She jumped up form the slid and tossed a kunai point blank into the throat of the next Jonin. Front flipping over the dead Jonin, she caught the bloodied kunai as it ripped out of the man's throat. She then twisted in the air and stabbed the kunai into the shoulder of the third enemy Jonin. As she landed she ripped it down all the way to the man's opposite hip and ripped it out. She threw a kunai high at the next Jonin, who blocked it with his kunai which made it so that he didn't have the time to react before Kin brought her kunai in between the mans legs and violently ripped it up to his jaw in one gracefully bloody arc.

She stood up and looked at her handy work before saying, "Yeah, he deserved that." The last man she killed was oldest of the Jonin.

* * *

Maru jumped to the side as another batch of kunai was thrown his way. The bulging veins around his eyes showed to the world that he had his Byakugan activated. He didn't like to use it but in this situation, where he was fighting four Jonin and time was of the essence, he couldn't afford to not use it. He stopped running and swung around a tree to face the enemy, he had gone far enough. He rushed the Jonin and it was no time until he was in their midst. That was when he called, **"Eight Trigrams: Shatter Whitecap of the Cutting Winds!"**

The blue rotation of chakra ripped out form Maru and tore into the enemy Jonin. The Jutsu was different from the Shatter Whitecap due to the fact that Maru created ten chakra strings, each connected to a finger, and with those interlaced with the winding chakra caused the swirling defense to become a cheese grater to anything that touched it. The two Jonin that were caught in it would agree.

Maru stopped spinning to only jump straight at the nearest Jonin with the force generated by the spinning use to create the large defense. The kick that Maru place on the man's neck shattered it in an instant.

"You Hyuga don't fight like that," the last Jonin said.

"Let's just say that I'm not very well like by my clan," Maru said as he watched the Jonin carefully.

When the Jonin started to do hand seal, Maru shot toward him and slammed a double palm hit against he's chest but Maru wasn't done because when he said, **"Fire Style: Instant Fire Blast!" **a burst of flames erupted from the man's back. Maru let the corpse fall off the branch to the ground and could help but look at the hole his jutsu made in the guy. "Yeah, they hate me for that too."

* * *

Vain stuck on the branch and with a mighty push, hurled himself back toward the Jonin. He landed in the group which broke apart and spread around him in the trees. Vain looked at each one of them and said, "I don't have time to play with you guys, my family needs me. So, let me show you a taijutsu that I made off the bases of the Hyuga's Eight Trigram: Sixty-Four Palms. I call it Strike."

Vain dropped into a gentle fist stance and wasn't disappointed when all of the Jonin attacked him at once. Vain took a breathe and called out his maneuver, "_One Thousand Strikes!"_

Vain blurred into motion and the Jonin couldn't dodge due to being in the air. Depressions appeared on the bodies of all of the Jonin and the heard the call of, _"Ten!" _Soon there were over ten on each one of their bodies and the total amount was told to them, _"Fifty!"_

Vain was a blur of motion as he pushed his body faster and faster. This taijutsu style was based purely off speed and he grunted as he pushed he muscles to the extreme. _"One hundred!"_ His arms were everywhere at once and he sent one of his strikes to the throat of one of the Jonin, killing him instantly. To any viewer it would look like a furious wind was attacking the Jonin due to how fast the hits were coming. A different Jonin coughed up blood and Vain changed his focus to the last two surviving Jonin the last died from ruptured internal organs._ "Five hundred!" _The snapping of bones was heard echoing around the area and one of the last two Jonin screamed in pain as his bones gave out from the relentless assault that Vain poured onto them. Vain appeared in front of the last of the Jonin with his fist already pulled back and yelled,_ "Final Strike!" _The sound of thunder was heard when Vain's fist connected with the Jonin's body and sent it crashing into and through several trees. Vain watched with grim satisfaction when the Jonin smashed his head against a tree causing it to explode in bone, blood, and brain.

Vain turned toward Tazuna's house and said, "Be alright, please."

* * *

"I'm going to kill you and then go after your fucking wife for running this far!" yelled a Jonin.

Nakamura stopped tree jumping and turned to the enemy Jonin slowly. "What, did you just say?" he asked a dangerous glint in his eye.

"You heard me, when I kill you I'm going to find your bitch and-"

"No one ever talks about Hitomi that way," Nakamura roared and threw a kunai. It blatantly missed but the enemy Jonin didn't have time to laugh about it because Nakamura was sending kunai at them as fast as he could throw them which, with him being an ANBU Captain, was pretty fast. The kunai were as numerous as rain drops as they hailed down on the Jonin and it was all they could do to dodge. The metallic gleam of the kunai soon covered the area that they were in and when they stopped hearing the whistle of kunai they poked their heads around the trees that they had taken cover behind. They saw Nakamura digging in his kunai pouch.

He looked up and said, "I ran out of kunai."

"Finally!"

Nakamura flashed a grin and said, "But I still have my shuriken."

The Jonin groaned as they retracted their heads and listened to the knocking of the shuriken against the wood. It was unnerving to know that one Shinobi carried this many kunai and shuriken and it seemed like minutes latter when the sounds finally stopped and the dashed out from behind the trees.

"The point of throwing a kunai or shuriken is to hit the target, idiot!" yelled one of the Jonin.

"No one-," Nakamura said as he snapped his fingers. The second he did, explosive notes unrolled from each of the kunai and shuriken, there were enough to change to color of the forest from bark brown to the black and cream color of the seals. "-says anything about Hitomi!"

The explosion was massive. It was about ten minutes latter that the nearest person showed up and it happened to be Vain. He looked at Nakamura, who was sitting on a branch watching the fires burn, and looked at the crater the explosion created. "Too much?"

"No, just right."

* * *

It was a reunion of smiles and happy hearts when the Jonin made it back to the house. They found Kin and her team there, she was just finishing up n healing the deep cut the Mai suffered from her fight. After asking if everyone was alright, Vain was pointed to the spare bedroom. When he walked in he saw Ai, Kitara, and Ami looking at him.

"Did I wake you?"

"No," Kitara answered.

Vain nodded and sat down in front of the girls. "Tsunami told me about your fight." He went quiet for a few moments before continuing, "I'm more proud of you girls then you would ever believe or know." The next hour was filled with talking and laughter.

* * *

Ai's mutation of the Byakugan was something of a tactician's wet dream. Vain and Ai called it the Sky Viewing Eye because when she used it, it was like she was viewing the world from the sky's point of view. She could only see a radius around her but in that radius she could see everything. She could even see genjutsu but couldn't look past it or break it. The down fall of the Sky Viewing Eye was the fact that she couldn't move her body while using it. She could see her body but couldn't move it at all; Vain and she had tried many attempts at getting her to move but each of them turned out to be failures. But even with it's limitations it was still an ability to be feared.

At this moment Vain and she were near the enemy fort so that she could gather as much information as possibly for the attack. She had already been studying it for the past thirty minutes and the rain that poured down was getting even heavier.

Ai's eyes lost their glassy look and she looked at Vain. She felt that he was holding her close to his body and was kind of arched over her the keep as much of the rain off her as possible. She couldn't help but ask, "Vain-Sensei, are we going to survive tomorrow?"

Vain looked down at her, the rain running through his hair, and answered, "I'm not going to lie to you, Ai. Some of us aren't going to make it."

* * *

I'm sure there are a few readers sitting there after reading this and all that's in their heads is a little something like this, "Wtf, I thought he said that this was going to be as 'realalistic' as he could make it and here he has all of the Jonin OC and the Special Jonin destroy their opponents, their multiple opponents. This is crap, Gggrrrrrahhhhhhgggggg! You, Judgment, can suck my BALLZZZZZ!"

*cough* No, I will not suck your balls and it is 'realistic,' you just don't see it. No, it's not the I've made every OC into unstoppable killing machines, that would be boring(No offense). You have to rememeber where the Jonin that they are fighting are from. They are from Iwa and Iwa is known for it's quantity, not quality. If they need a boat load of Jonin then they will no doubt promote people who aren't ready for the position. "But, Judgment, even Vain and Xander said that they were Jonin before the fights." This is true, but just because some one has the chakra levels of a Jonin *cough* Naruto *cough* doesn't mean they have Jonin skill levels. I hope that explains that. As far as the Special Jonin fight goes... they are each Jonin level in a specific area, Tylin just happens to have that skill in being a wrecking ball, if you know what I mean. Kin is a hand to hand and medical specialist and Kaishen is a tactic and Genjutsu sepcialist. Hope that explains everything.

Xander's skill is directly related to will power. It's kind of like if you think you can't be hypnotized, you can't. The same thing applies here, thwat's why he didn't care if he told them, he was going to kill them anyway. That last Jonin was probably thinking, "Oh, shit he's going to do it to me, I can't stop it, how do I stop it!"

I was going to make a jutsu list but I'm going to go with getting this out faster, forgive me!

See you next time...  
-Judgment


	16. Chapter 16

Diaclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Tri - Did you want the Arks in one big group or individual? (ex all of them, or Hazama/Vain, Saya/Vain, ect.) (font change... cool)

Okay, I was going to get this chapter out earlier but I got a little busy. So, after I beat Busy with a stick and left him bleeding on the road I sat down and cranked this chapter out.

I just wanted to say to any reader that might have read this far and haven't submitted an OC, give it a try. I have fun with all the different OC, so it's no burden on me, if that's what your worried about...But since your all blood sucking vampires that are only hounding me for more chapters, sitting there every night checking this Fic and saying, "WHAT! He hasn't updated the next day, !" Um... yeah, I need to sleep too. So, now that I got that out of my system I really do enjoy all of my readers I was just playing, submit one is all I can say, who knows you may find that you get more into the fic that way.

This time...on dragon bal... *cough* sorry about that. This time is the attack on the Fort. Who will die, who will live, who will make me pancakes, and why am I asking all these questions?

Enjoy...

* * *

"We have to attack tonight," Nakamura said as he contemplated the map on the table. All of the Jonin were crowded around it, studying the different placements and the patrol routs. The detail that was gathered by Ai and the Genjutsu Scroll that had the Fort displayed over it, helped the Jonin discuss plans of attack.

"I still find it unfair that your Genin get to train with this thing," Saya said with a pout.

Vain chuckled, "It takes a lot of time to create one of these, so I've never really had the time to go about creating another."

Nakamura cleared his throat and when all eyes were back on him he said, "It seems that our best bet is to attack tonight. They won't expect an attack so soon after our battles and it will catch them off guard. We will split into groups of two, after much deliberation between Vain and I we have agreed that it would be better to bring the Genin on this assault."

"What!" surprisingly it was Zabuza that made the outburst. "You can't really expect Genin to do anything in this battle? They would sooner die and I won't allow you to use them as fodder."

"Relax, Bro," Hazama said next to him.

"Relax? did you just hear what they just said?"

"Yeah, but I also know that Vain wouldn't endanger anyone unless for good reason."

Zabuza scoffed, "What's your reason?"

Vain looked up from his leaning position against the wall. "The attack showed us that they're not afraid to attack us. We can't know when or if another attack is going to happen, so the best that we can do is move Tazuna's family and have the Genin come with us. I realize that the Genin are still exhausted form their fight, Daisuke can barely move, and that they won't be anything more then a diversion, but if we have them paired with a Jonin then we should be able to cover them. I not going to lie and say that all of us are going to live, I expect that this battle will be my last, but this is one battle that we can't walk away from. It hurts to order this attack knowing that some or all of us are not going to make it but this is one thing that I have to do."

"What are the pairings?" Saya asked.

"Daisuke will be with Tylin, Ai with Kin, Kitara with Haku, Sora with Saya, Ami with Hazama, Mai with Maru, and Kaishen with Nakamura. Their mission will be to keep the Genin safe while doing as much fighting as they can. Kaishen isn't in this group because his Health would only slow him down and in the end kill him. The Jonin that aren't paired with a Genin are the ones that will be doing most of the fighting. Got that?"

Everyone nodded.

Vain motioned for Nakamura to continue. He nodded and pointed toward the floating fort as he said, "We will break into three different groups. Team Nakamura will be me, Kaishen, Daisuke, Tylin, Kin, and Ai. We're going to attack from the south after the signal. Team Hazama will be Hazama, Ami, Saya, Sora, Haku, Kitara, Maru, and Mai. They will attack form the east after the signal."

"What's the signal?" Haku asked.

Nakamura went silent for a second before saying, "The signal is an explosion from the middle of the Fort. It should be large enough to take out all of the enemy Shinobi... and the Nin that placed it."

"What!" Hazama roared.

"A suicide mission but who wou... no, you can't," Maru said as he turned to Vain.

Vain stood up from the wall, his see able features were stone and his eyes held a look that would take no argument. "Team Vain consisting of myself, Xander, and Zabuza, will be the ones to place the bomb."

"You can't!" Ami said as she burst into the room with all of the Genin and Tazuna's family behind.

Ami ran right to Vain and clenched his shirt and yelled, "You can't!"  
Soon the rest of the Genin were protesting and the noise increased until Vain yelled loudly, "Enough!" The Genin quieted in an instant. He looked down at them and said quietly, "I asked Xander and Zabuza if they would take the mission, both said yes. There comes a time when a Shinobi must think of other's lives and forfeit their own so that the rest can survive. If we didn't have to take this mission, we wouldn't, but we don't have a choice."

"Please," Kitara said quietly, "don't, Vain-Sensei."

"Saya," he said.

"Hai!"

"Would you look after them?"

"Hai!" Saya answered with unchecked tears running down her face.

"Then all groups get ready to move!" Vain said loudly. Saya and Haku pried the crying Ami off of Vain and walked the rest of the Genin out of the house.

Tazuna walked over to Vain and said, "When I went to Konoha I had no intention on getting anyone killed but it seems that my going there was a death sentence for you. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize," Vain said, "just remember what Zabuza, Xander, and I have done for you. That's all we ask."

**(There should be a line here but it's not staying so this is now this line)**

It took the groups around two hours to get into position. It was late and the group only went slower because of the Genin. They had never seen a friend sacrifice themselves to save others, the rest had and they pushed both themselves and the Genin on with determination that was bred from wanting to get it over with.

Xander looked at Vain with a questioning look on his face and asked, "So, why am I holding the bomb again?"

"Do you want to be at the center of two hundred something Nin's attention?" Vain asked.

"Not particularly, no."

"That's why."

"So," Zabuza said, "what's the plan? Just unleash our most powerful jutsu?"

Vain nodded, "Yeah, that and don't die too quickly."

Two beeps sounded in the radio and Vain signaled the advance. They moved slowly, the closer they could get the less chances the enemy had to kill them. Vain lead the trio and after ten minutes of slow moving he signed to Xander and Zabuza, "Some thing's not right. We should have at least hit a patrol by now."

"Maybe they're on their lunch breaks?" Xander signed.

Zabuza muffled a laughed and then signed, "Do you smell something?"

Vain concentrated some more chakra to his noise, like Natsume taught him, and was puzzled when he caught the scent of blood. "We attack on my mark."

The signal was given and all three rushed toward the fort. It wasn't ten seconds before the three jumped into the fort and look around that they were horrified at what they saw. All around them were dead nin and not just any nin but Iwa Nin.

"What the hell happened here," Zabuza asked slowly.

Vain and Xander left the question unanswered as they began to look around. "Vain," Xander said, "I think it's safe to call the rest in. If we haven't been attacked yet then we aren't going to be."

"I agree," Vain answered and clicked his radio. "Hazama, Nakamura."

"Yeah," Hazama answered.

"What do you need?" Nakamura asked.

"You can bring your groups in but do so with caution and prepare the Genin."

"For what?" Hazama asked.

"Their dead, Hazama. All of the enemy Nin are dead."

It was truly a sight to see, this, while once a solid Iwa fort, was now a fort of death. It was no surprise to Vain when some of the Genin threw up and that his team stayed so close to him. They had left him, thinking it would be the last time they would see him, they wouldn't leave his side so easily again. He didn't mind but as he looked at the death that permeated this place he did wish the they didn't have to see it. From what he could make of it, the attackers took out all of the patrols slowly. They then threw one of the bodies onto a table that a group of Iwa Jonin were playing cards at. Instead of running away from the body they looked over it and by doing so they didn't get out of the blast radius of the explosive tags that were stuffed into the body's stomach cavity. From there it gets to crazy to follow but it was clear that whatever group did this, did it systematically and went kill by kill. The irry mist made the fort look like it came right out of a horror film and the rain caused the already large pools of blood to become even larger.

"Vain, we found a survivor!" he heard Nakamura yell.

He rushed over with his Genin team in tow. When he got there he saw a man on the ground with Nakamura holding his head up. Kin wasn't applying any medical jutsu on him though. It was clear that he was mortally wounded. He crouched down next to the man and said, "My name is Vain Thanatos, Konoha Jonin. Can you tell me what happened here, maybe who did this?"

The man had obviously been given pain killers and he looked over at Vain with unfocused eyes. "It was him," he whispered, blood leaking down his face and out his mouth. "The only thing we could see was his eyes, his red glowing eyes. We-we threw everything we had at him but he would just evade it. He made it look easy. I-I saw him, before I passed out. He had a billowing black clock that ate the light that was around it, and sucked the heat from the area. Fire, wind, and lightning danced from him and sang him a sympathy of death!"

"Who did this?" Saya asked as she crouched across from Vain.

A terrified look came over the man's face and he said, "I... I...It was Rorex, th... the Mortal God of W... War." He died after finishing the sentence.

"Rorex?" Sora asked, "I thought he was a myth?"

"Hardly," Xander said.

"Rorex, the Mortal God of War is a real man," Vain said, still crouching next to the dead Iwa Nin.

"How can you be so sure?" Kitara asked.

"Because he has been reported to be a real Nin by all of the Elemental Countries even Konoha."

"He's a real guy alright," Zabuza said. "He's talked about in all circles of Missing-Nin. He first showed up in Kiri, during the Bloodline Civil War. It's said that he slaughtered an entire Anti-Bloodline army, it's where he got the name, Mortal God of War."

"Now that we know who did this, there is still something we need to do," Vain said, "and that's find Gato. He's no doubt inside the fort. Zabuza and I will lead, Xander and Nakamura take the back."

Vain and Zabuza entered the fort with trepidation and weren't surprised to see that the fighting spread into the halls. Vain could clearly see from the dead bodied that Rorex cut them down as they ran away.

"This guy is one man that I never want to fight," Zabuza said as he looked inside a room only to find more bodies.

They cleared the entire first floor before going to the second. The stairs opened up into a large room but with all the destruction, no one could tell what it was originally used for. Vain and Zabuza pulled out kunai when they heard something and when they listened closely they found it to be crying. It was coming form the farthest corner of the room and in no time they were over there. They found a barely clothed woman, shivering there.

Maru quickly pulled out a blanket and gave it to Saya, who slowly laid it over her. The women pulled back at her touch and lifted her head quickly, her eyes were filled with fear. "Are you alright?" Saya asked.

The women nodded.

"Can you tell me your name?"

"Yuya, I'm from the village to the west."

"Good, that's good. Can you tell me what happened here?"

"Rorex, he came, he killed everyone, he saved me."

"Saved you?"

"Ga-Gato had picked me to be his plaything. He had just torn my pants off when the fighting started outside the door. He was scared and hid behind the desk. When it finally went quiet I heard footsteps coming toward the door. They stopped at the door and then it was opened slowly. The man that walked in, the only thing I remember was his glowing red eyes. When he looked at me, I didn't feel scared of him. He told me to go and wait here, in this corner. He said that Nin from Konoha would be coming. I ran over here and soon after I heard screams come from the room that he and Gato were in."

"Which room would that be?" Saya asked.

Yuya pointed across the room to a closed door. You could tell that the lights were on by the light that snuck out from under the door.

Vain walked over to the door and opened it. Inside he saw that the desk had been thrown to the side and filing cabinets were pushed onto the ground spewing their paper everywhere. On the wall he saw Gato with a kunai through his hands, forearms, biceps, and in his shoulders. It looked like he had been hanging there a long time and ha only died recently. "Kin," he said looking back at her, "have you been trained in toxin analysis?"

She nodded.

"Then could you please check his blood."

Kin entered the room after both Vain and Maru, with his Byakugan, checked it over. Saya, after looking in stopped the Genin from looking in as well. It's not like they hadn't seen death but Gato had died with a look of pure terror that twisted into a hideous smile and she didn't want then to see that.

"Vain, why do you think their is poison in his system?" Maru asked.

"That look he has. I've seen it once before and that person had a specific toxin in their blood," Vain answered.

When Kin came out of the room she shot Vain a glance and said, "I found a trace of a poison that is called, Dead Man's Smile. It is reported to cause severe amounts of pain before killing and it can take from one to two hours to kill. From what I can tell, he's been dead for about half an hour."

"Looks like the people of Wave got their revenge," Xander said.

* * *

After farther searching of the fort, Vain and the group found the area where the prisoners were kept. They found many women that were taken from the village and also some Iwa Nin. It seems that some of the Nin didn't agree with the mission and were imprisoned because of their disobedience. When asked if they would go back to Iwa they had replied that they would be staying in Wave, protecting it from bandits and the like. It seems that they had come to think of the place as home in their time spent in Wave.

Vain stayed behind when the others escorted the used to be prisoners to the village and Team Kakashi who was sent with Tazuna as a final resort protection. He looked at the fort one last time; it was hard to imagine how the fight must have been. To see one man take out a fort filled with over two hundred Nin it would have been a sight to see. Vain called a simple fire jutsu to mind and casted it onto the wooden building. When asked later about why he did it he answered, "It was nothing but a reminder of the horrors the people of Wave suffered. Better it be burned then to sit for eternity filled with the horrors it witnessed."

_

* * *

With the ex-Iwa nin protecting the town, the Konoha Nin decided to head back home. They were going to depart without a word but it seemed that the people of Wave wouldn't allow it. Inari, it seemed, had gathered the people together to prepare for an attack from Gato's fort. He also gathered them to thank the heroes of Wave. The Genin didn't know how to act with all the cheering and the Jonin stood with smiles on their faces as they took in the thanks that the people had put together.

Tazuna walked forward from the group of people and said, "First I would like to thank Kakashi and his team. If it wasn't for them the rest would never had come. Second, I want to thank the rest for not only coming but for being more committed to this village then even we the villagers were. Lastly, I want to thank Vain, for showing this village what true determination and sacrifice really is. For that I want to name this bridge, the Great Vain Bridge."

Vain smiled and said, "That's nice and all but why don't you name it something that the people of the Elemental Countries can look upon and draw on for will to keep going."

Tazuna smiled and nodded.

The group said their last good-byes and were soon running across the water with the Genin on the backs of the Jonin.

"Tazuna, what are we going to name it?" a villager asked.

"I know what we'll call it. We'll call it, Determination Bridge."

* * *

Yeah, Rorex is kind of a badass... did I forget to mention that. No, I think I did, I mean, this fic is named after him. I bet all of you readers thought Vain was Rorex, Muhahahahahahahahahahahaha.

See you next time...  
-Judgment


	17. Chapter 17

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

(When there is a font change it means that these are things that I typed before I got the story onto this cite, I'm am a little forgetful so sue me.)

Med-Jai ferret - Sorry I didn't get to you about this last chapter but I love the Pics and I'm wondering if I can post their links in my Profile. It actually made my day when I saw you comment and looked at them. It makes me feel good that you like this fic enough to do that, even if you were just practising.

GhostAngel69 - I like your characters but I would like to raise the ages by about ten years. If that is a problem just let me know but if you don't get back to me on that before I put them in then I'm going to do it. Hope that doesn't bother you. One more thing, I have free choosing of their past at some points correct? Don't want to do something you might not like.

I love it when you readers post OC's that you want in the story because it gives me such a large range of characters to work with. The one thing that I didn't want to do when I started to write this Fic was have to use the character that were already in Naruto. I'm still going to have them in this fic but this fic was made for people to submit OC's and watch as they go through the Naruto world. So if you're a reader that hasn't submitted yet then get to it, I'm happy every time I see a new character submitted because that means that I have another spectum of things I can do in the fic.

(Yeah font change)

I love writing this story, but sadly the updates might start coming in once a week intervales when college starts next week. I'm going to try to work out more free time to get more out but I'm just letting you readers know that They might slow down starting next week.

Enjoy...

* * *

(Time skip- Six days later)

The trip back to Konoha was taken slow and easy., everyone needed the break. This mission to Wave wasn't the typical mission but when regarding the circumstances, they did fine. Vain could feel tension leave the group when Konoha came into view and after a quick stop at the gate to check in, Zabuza and Haku getting questioning looks, the group went straight to the Hokage Tower. They were sent right in when they walked into the waiting room. The Hokage office was crowded with all the people in the room and everyone stood tall under Minato's gaze.

He smiled after a few seconds and said, "It's good to see that everyone is alright."

"Hokage," Vain said, "I would like that my team be allowed to go home. I'll stay and give the report."

"Alright, but first," Minato said as he turned toward Zabuza and Haku. "Mind telling me what the Demon of the Hidden Mist is doing in my office?"

Hazama stepped forward. "He's requesting to become part of Konoha."

Minato stared hard at Zabuza before asking, "He's your half-brother, correct?"

"Yes, Sir."

"What is Kiri going to say when they find out that we have not one but two of their Seven Swordsmen," Minato said shaking his head.

"Does that mean they can stay?" Hazama asked.

"Why the hell not. I'm in a good mood now that I know my son and his team are alright."

"Thank you, Hokage," Hazama said with a bow, Haku followed quickly. He nudged Zabuza.

"What?" Zabuza asked.

"Thank the Hokage," Hazama said back.

"Umm... thanks."

Minato made a shooing motion with his hand and said, "Yeah, yeah, now all of you get out of here. Wait, one more thing. Daisuke Nakamura."

"Hai."

"You should go to the hospital." Minato got a grin on his face and said, "You're a daddy now." A thump was heard and everyone turned to see Nakamura on the floor. Minato sighed, "Saya, Hazama, take him to the Hospital. Poor guy, same thing happened to me. I'll see you at home Naruto."

Naruto put on his classic grin and gave a thumbs up saying, "I'll tell you about what happened and how I took down one of the Demon Brothers, believe it!"

Vain couldn't help but smile when he door closed and he and Minato were left alone.

"So, mind telling me what happened."

Vain sat down and told Minato all that happened during the mission.

Minato nodded after taking it all in and asked, "You're sure it was Rorex?"

"Two eyewitnesses confirmed it."

"The last time Rorex was reported he was in Iwa. It makes sense that he would know about such a large deployment of Nin and it fits his memo to go and rescue Wave from the grips that Gato had on it and it's people. I think it probable was him."

"To have the power to defeat so many Nin, it's scare to think about."

Minato laughed, "Well, it's a good thing that I don't order anything that might encourage his wrath. He fights for the innocent and there hasn't been a single incident that involved a lot of people that he hasn't been involved in. Kami only knows how many things he's in that might only affect one or two people."

Vain nodded, "I would like to meet him again some day."

"That's right; you meet him when you went to Kumo, after the Hyuga Incident, right?"

"Yeah," Vain answered as he looked out the window.

"I understand if you're hesitant to talk about it, I won't push."

"The Chunin Exams are going to be here this time right?"

"Yes, in about four to five months. Why, you interested in putting your team in?"

"I've given it some thought."

"Well, if you're going to then I'll give you the sign up sheets a month before."

Vain nodded. "It was good seeing you, Minato, but I would like to go check on the group. Just to see if everyone is doing alright."

"Get going then," Minato said with a smile.

* * *

Vain figured that, since he had spent about three hours talking to Minato, Nakamura would be up from his fainting spell and that he would be the first one he would check on. Vain walked through the hospital doors an could help but feel a pulling at the back of his head. It was telling him to leave this place and it was telling him for good reason. Vain didn't like the hospital, in fact he hated it. He spent much of his youth here with his private doctors and nurses. He would be sent here if the beatings got a little more rough then usual, so about every other day, and while here he would still have to be on guard. He remembered one time when one of his nurses switched one of his IV's with a powerful paralytic. She had stabbed him thirty seven times before a doctor walked in. Of course said doctor released him immediately after, saying the wounds would heal on their own. Those two were fired soon after but that was only one of the many horror stories that Vain could tell about this place. Vain knew that Kami had to have hated him, otherwise he would never had lived through his childhood.

Vain shook his head and walked over to the counter. He didn't even get to say anything before the lady at the counter glared at him and said with venom, "I'm sorry, we only help _loyal _Shinobi."

Vain shrugged the comment off and said, "I'll find them myself then." He knew that the woman wouldn't try to stop him. She had tried before and was reprimanded by one of the hospital heads, who also happened to be Vain's top personal doctor. He walked into the hallways and immediately went up the stairs to the left. The set up of the hospital was confusing but Vain had it so memorized that he could walk it blindfolded.

Vain soon found himself in the maternity section and just happened to glance in a room he was passing and saw Nakamura sitting next to a hospital bed. He was talking to a young woman who had red hair and clear blue eyes. Vain knew her to be Hitomi because he and Nakamura had talked about her during the mission. She was apparently a Medic-Nin and she was also completely incapable of harming others. Vain watched the two talk for a few seconds before he decided to not bother them.

"Vain, that you?"

Vain turned toward the room and saw the two occupants looking at him. He smiled and walked in. "Sorry to bother you two, I just wanted to check on you Daisuke."

Daisuke smiled, "Well this is great. Now I don't have to find you."

"Find me?"

A clearing of the throat turned all attention to the women in the bed. "I'm Hitomi. It's nice to meet you Vain, though I've only heard a little from Daisuke here I can tell that you're a good man."

"I'm afraid you praise me too highly"

"Or I don't praise you enough," she said. "There aren't many Commanders who go around checking on their comrades after a mission."

Vain nodded and said, "Then I thank you for your praise."

"But there's a bigger reason that it's good for you to be here. Daisuke wants something of you and he won't have it any other way and from what I've heard I happily agree."

"You've lost me," Vain said.

Daisuke stood up and it was at that moment that Vain noticed the small baby in his arms. The baby had a small patch of red hair and had cerulean eyes. He was a very cute baby, to say the least.

"Vain," Daisuke said, "I would like you to meet Takeshi Nakamura."

Vain watched the sleeping Takeshi for a moment before saying, "It's good to meet you Takeshi. Now, you wanted something, Daisuke?"

"Yeah, did you want to hold him?"

"You have a lot of trust in me to so easily ask that, I thank you for that," Vain said before gently receiving Takeshi. He cradled him in his arms softly and smiled when the baby squirmed a little bit before settling comfortably.

"I trust you with not only my life but that of my wife and child as well, Vain. The thing I, we," he pointed toward himself and Hitomi, "wanted to ask you is that, we would like you to be Takeshi's Godfather."

Vain looked up at Daisuke in a flash. He saw that both Daisuke and Hitomi were smiling softly and he saw slight pleading in Daisuke's eyes. The idea of a Godfather was very different for a Shinobi then it was for anyone else. Since a Shinobi has such a low life expectancy the idea of a Godfather was pretty much asking someone to be their kids father if they should die in a battle or on a mission. It showed absolute trust in that person.

Vain nodded and said, "I would be honored."

* * *

Vain found Xander sitting on a rock next to a training ground. Now that wasn't odd, what was odd was the fact that he was watching Kin, Tylin, and Kaishen like a hawk. Vain sat down next to him and asked, "Any reason you're watching the Sepcial Jonin so closely?"

"Yeah. Believe it if you will but I'm taking them on as my team," Xander answered back.

"I would never had guessed that you would take on a team. Does Minato know?"

"He'll find out eventually through the grapevine."

Vain sweat dropped before asking, "Any reason you took them on?"

"They remind me of my old team."

"Ah, and what kind of Sensei are you going to be, if you don't mind me asking?"

Xander sat there for a few minutes just watching the team before he broke the silence by saying, "I sometimes thought about that. Ever since my Sensei left with the rest of my team I've always felt that I was useless and that was why he left without me. I loved my Sensei but that love has turned into, I don't know quiet what it is. It could be hate or it could be acceptance, I'm not sure. What I do know is this; I want these kids to have someone to look up to, someone that they can ask for help from. If being their Sensei is what I have to do to get that, then what ever."

"They remind you of yourself."

"I guess you could say that."

Vain kept his glance on the Special Jonin as he said, "They have each been labeled as flight risks-"

"And you're asking if I would stop them or join them, right?"

Vain stayed silent.

"I'm not sure."

"Then," Vain said, his voice as hard as steel, "I hope that I never have to hunt you."

Xander nodded and said with a chuckle, "I hope you never have to hunt me ether. There is a special thing that connects the two of us, Vain. We both know that pain of betrayal."

* * *

"What, you two aren't married!" came a scream from an apartment up ahead.

Vain sighed and thought, _Found them._ He walked over to the Apartment and when he looked in he saw Zabuza looking at Hazama gob smacked. Hazama and Saya had large blushes on their faces. Vain walked over to Haku, who was standing in the doorway to one of the rooms the apartment offered. He said, "Let me guess, Zabuza just found out that their not married."

Haku jumped and turned around. When she saw Vain she said heavily, "Don't sneak up on me!"

"The door was open and I was simply walking, how does that equate to sneaking up on you?"

Haku crossed her arms and said, "You know what I mean."

"Hey there Vain!" Saya said with a wave.

"It' good to see you doing well Saya, as well the rest of you," Vain said.

"You're checking on us?" Haku asked.

Hazama walked forward and said, "Yeah, that's just something that Vain does after a mission."

Haku bowed and said, "Thank you for your concern."

Vain waved his hand, "No need to bow. This is mostly for my sake; I would never be able to sleep tonight if I didn't do this."

"That's so thoughtful, almost makes a tear com to my eye," Zabuza said with a sniff.

Hazama and Vain looked at each other, then to Zabuza, then at each other, and then back to Zabuza and said at the same time, "That was just creepy."

"Yeah, I hate you guys too," Zabuza said as he walked off into, what Vain guessed to be, the kitchen.

"Are you going to stay long, Vain?" Saya asked as she walked up behind Hazama and wrapped her hands around him.

Vain shook his head, "No, I was just checking on you guys and now that I know you're all fine I have to go. I still have a few people to see and only a few hours of daylight to do it but there is one thing I do want to ask you, Saya."

"What is it?"

"I was wondering if you could help Kitara with her Sharingan."

Saya nodded, "Yeah, I can help her."

"Thank you, Saya. We'll make arrangements latter," Vain said as he started to walk out of the apartment.

Vain left with a wave and saw the three that were still in the room wave back.

* * *

The Hyuga compound was large and easily showed the wealth and power the Hyuga possessed in Konoha. Vain appeared in a billowing of black clouds in the garden. He remembered the night clearly when he stood in this very garden after the Hyuga Incident. It was just he, Hiashi, and Hizashi and they were discussing what could be done to advert Hizashi's death. Vain finally took matters into his hands and had left for Kumo that very night.

Now Vain stood in the garden looking for one Hyuga in particular. He didn't find Maru at his apartment so he could only be at the Hyuga compound. Vain scanned the garden and started to walk when he spotted Maru sitting on a stone bench. When he got closer he say the Hyuga Heiress, Hinata, going through Katas of the Hyuga' Gentle Fist. Vain sat next to him without a word and started to watch Hinata go through the different forms.

"Do the guards know you're here, Vain?" Maru asked.

"What would be the fun in that? Any ways, I'm only passing through," Vain said without taking his eyes off Hinata.

"Hinata, slow down at this point. You're starting to go to fast," Maru said.

Hinata stopped and started to poke her fingers together and said, "I'm not used to doing this with someone else watching."

"That's fine, Hinata. I apologize for making you uncomfortable," Vain said. "Why don't you take a quick break until Maru and I are done?"

Hinata nodded and walking over to the stone bench. She sat down next to Maru and took a drink of water that she had there. She loved it when Maru was the one that taught her. He was soft spoken and kind to her, unlike any other Hyuga that trained her. Maru always corrected her mistakes quickly and kindly unlike the other Hyuga, who only ridiculed her. He was one of the few people that she could be truly comfortable around. She turned to look at the man he was talking to and nearly eeped when she heard Maru call him Vain.

"So, Vain, what did you need me so desperately for that you broke into the Hyuga compound?" Maru asked.

"I wouldn't call it breaking in, I would call it give the guards a break from their duties without them knowing," Vain said with humor in his voice. "I'm just here to check on you, that's all and I can see that you're already being put to work. I've only seen the Gentle Fist a few times in my life but I must say that you're very good at it for one so young, Hinata."

She blushed.

"I should be going," Vain said as he extended his hand to Maru," see you around Maru."

Maru took Vain's hand and shook it. What Hinata didn't see was that Vain slipped a small note to Maru during the handshake.

"Umm..."

Vain looked at Hinata and asked, "Did you need something, Hinata?"

"You're the one that saved Kurenai-Sensei."

Vain smiled, "So it seems that Anko asked Kurenai about that. Yes, I'm the one that save your Sensei during her Seduction mission."

Hinata blushed and whispered something.

"I'm sorry, but I didn't quiet make out what you were saying there," Vain said.

Hinata tried again but it was still not understandable. Hinata blushed and bowed her head even deeper. People sometimes got anger at her for her shyness and she waited for Vain to yell at her.

"Take a deep breathe, Hinata. Then repeat what you were saying."

Hinata looked up at Vain to see that, even though he was wearing a mask, he was smiling. She took a breathe and let it out. She felt better after that and said, "Kurenai-Sensei wants to thank you for what you did. She went to Hokage and asked where she could find you but he said that you were on a mission but now that I have the chance I can ask you to come to my team's breakfast. We always eat at the same place every day."

Vain nodded, "The girls told me about the place. I'll come when I have the time, I promise."

Hinata nodded and eeped when Vain waved and disappeared without a sound in a cloud of black smoke.

Maru sighed and said, "Alright, Hinata, from Kata three and remember to slow down and think about your movements." Maru waited until Hinata was half way through the Kata before opening the note from Vain.

(Note)

There's a chakra seal on this note so you don't have to worry about any other Hyuga reading it. I'm going to make this short. Ai has unlocked a new bloodline that I can deduce is a mutation form the Byakugan. I would like you to help her with it in anyway you can. I'll explain the rest in person. Ask Minato for directions to my home.

(End Note)

Maru sent the note into flames and then continued to watch Hinata carefully. What he didn't notice was a shadowy figure disappear into the main building.

* * *

Vain sighed as he walked away form the Uchiha compound. He knew he would never be allowed access to check on Sasuke but he thought that he might as well try. He decided to walk to his next destination and was soon at the home of one, Naruto Namikaze. He heard talking in the kitchen when he walked in and headed for it. He barely managed to duck a flying pot and didn't dodge a tackle, compliments of Kushina. Vain felt hands wrap around him and heard crying coming from Kushina. He sat there like that for about five minutes before Kushina said, "I don' care if it was to save the rest of your team, don't you ever do a suicide plan ever again."

He stayed quiet and soon enough she began to speak again, "What would Minato and I had done if you had really died, what would your girls had done, did you even think about that? Minato would have hated himself for getting you killed and your girls would never have gotten over it. Did you even think about how your death would have affected other people?"

"I'm sorry Kushina," was all Vain could say.

"You had better be," she said as she stood up. "Dinners almost ready, are you going to stay?"

"I can't. I still have some others to check on," Vain said as he gave a wave to Naruto, who waved back.

Kushina nodded and wipped her eyes and said, "You're always doing these things that can get you killed, Vain. It's become that even if it's a simple mission I worry about you."

Vain smiled and soft smile and said, "It's good to know that I have people that worry over my safety, I'll see you around Kushina, Naruto."

* * *

Vain was dreading his next visit. It wasn't that he didn't like Sakura Haruno, it was the fact that her mother was on the Civilian Council and was one of the most avid about having his head. He gave a small thanks when he saw Sakura outside her home. He waved when she looked at him and she waved back.

"How are you doing?"

"I'm doing fine, why are you here?" Sakura asked, curiosity was plastered on her face.

"I'm just going around checking on the group. It's good to see that you're doing well. I'll be going, I still have a few other to visit and only two hours of sunlight left," Vain answered.

Sakura blushed at the thought of Vain being happy knowing that she was alright and before he could Shushin away she said, "I want to get stronger."

He looked at her for a second and asked, "What makes you say that?"

She blushed in embarrassment and said, "I know that I'm weak, I know that but when I heard that Kitara, Ai, and Ami took down a Chunin and Daisuke, Sora, and Mai beat six Genin I knew that I had to get stronger. I was wondering if you could train me?"

Vain watched her for a second and finally said, "No, but I'll have a talk with Kakashi. If he isn't training you to the degree you want after that, go to the Hokage and tell him, he'll get Kakashi's ass in gear." He wasn't shocked by Sakura's depressed look and he said, "Sakura, Kakashi is a good teacher when you get him working. Tell you what, If Kakashi doesn't start training you harder then I'll take you on as my student, but you have to promise me that you'll work hard for Kakashi and believe me, he can be a slave driver when he wants to be."

Sakura's eyes lit up and she said, "Promise." She hugged Vain tightly and said, "Thank you."

"No problem," Vain said with a smile. "Don't be scared to talk to me if you see me around in the village. See you around."

* * *

Vain bowed to the KIA Memorial. He had a deep respect for those that died defending Konoha and any village for that matter. "You know, most people think that you come up here as a way of honoring Obito but what you really do is read those smutty books of yours."

"I honor him in my own way," Kakashi replied from his seated position in the trees. "Am I the last one for you to check on?"

"No, I still have Team Lutii and my girls must be furious at me for taking so long to get home."

"Well, I would hate to keep you away from a beating from your team," Kakashi said in a drawl.

"I love you too, buddy," Vain said back. He started to walk back down the hill but turned and said, "Sakura wants to become stronger"

"So, I should start taking their training more seriously."

"If you don't I'll take her from you, I'm not kidding on this one Kakashi."

Kakashi jumped out if the tree and landed next to Vain. He looked at him with an eye smile and said, "Then I haven't a moment to loss."

The two walked back to the village together talking about what ever cam to mind.

* * *

Vain let out a sigh of relief when he saw Daisuke, Sora, and Mai walking down the street. He quickly waved them over ad it was Daisuke that talked first.

"What did you need, Vain-Sensei?"

"When I'm not training you three just call me Vain and I was just checking on you three to see if you're all right."

Sora's cheeks went red in blush and she asked while stuttering, "Why are you wondering?"

Vain smiled, "I'm just making sure that you're alright, it helps me sleep at night, knowing that my group is fine."

Mai turned her head to hide a slight blush that rose form Vain sleeping easier knowing that they were alright, which meant that he slept easier knowing that she was alright. While the two girls made that connection it seemed that their male teammate didn't. As he rattled away with questions and talk chattering about anything that cam to mind.

Mai managed to speak when Daisuke was taking a breathe, "I'm fine, thank you for checking on us."

"You're welcome Mai," Vain said. He knew that while Mai's parents loved her she wasn't told to often that they cared about her. It came from the militaristic way her parents raised hr and Vain could understand why she would be flustered when some one told her that they worried about them.

"Yeah, I'm fine as well and as you can see, Daisuke is still talking as much as always so he's fine too," Sora said. Sora was embarrassed for a whole different reason. It wasn't a secret among the Kunoichi that Vain was a looker. In the Kunoichi Magazine, Vain was always mentioned in an article or two. There was even a reward for a picture without his mask on, the same went for Kakashi Hatake. Sora remembered reading an article that was dedicated to what the men might be hiding under their masks and most think that Kakashi is just shy about his looks while Vain, with his past, is hiding a scar or two. While most villagers hated him there were only small groups of Shinobi that still hated him, the Uchiha being the most prevalent. Of course, this wasn't true when Vain was younger, when most Shinobi hated him.

Vain smiled, "So I heard. You three should be heading home, it's getting late and that's were I'm heading. See you all later."

* * *

Vain was tackled to the ground the second he stepped into his house. He started laughing as he hugged the three girls that were hugging his furiously. hen he finally got into a seated position he asked, "What was that for?"

"You took so long to get back that we started to think that you were hurt and didn't tell us," Kitara said.

"I'm sorry, I was going around checking on the group. Training starts tomorrow you three so be up and ready," Vain said as he stood up.

"Can't we stay up and talk for a while?" Ami asked.

Vain nodded and was soon sitting on the couch talking to the girls about questions they had about training, the village, and anything that came to mind. Two hours passed by quickly and it was 11:00 before any of them knew it. Vain said his good nights to the girls and they said at the said time, "Good night, Nii-san."

"Nii-san?"

"Yeah, we talked about it and decided that you're like a big brother to us, some one we can always depend on," Ai answered.

Vain smiled and said, "Good night my imoutos."

* * *

Ohsss, nossss. Who is the shadowy figure and what kind of problems might it cause? We'll find out later.

The next couple of chapters will be Special OC Arks, If I don't get a requsted Ark in I will do it after the Chunin Exams and the one month break thingy as well as the final fights. I was wondering how many I should do, I'm thinking 3 but it is a four to five month break so I'm not sure. If you readers decide on more than 3 Arcs then try to suggest an Arc that I can do, I need any break I can get. So, I'm going to tell you the next chapter is going to be about the mission that Hazama and Vain had together before this fic started, this next ones to you Tri.

So I guess what I'm saying is this, don't be afraid to post an OC, chances are, I'll love them as much as I've love the rest and only after a few chapter will the readers start to adore them as well. So think of it this way, your only giving another character for the readers to love. And if you're afraid of viewers making fun of your OC then know this, I have full control of their character on wether they live or die, they won't say anything with out me destroying them. I love my readers but I will destroy anyone who makes fun of another OC. If it's your OC your poking fun at then I'm fine but don't poke fun at others unless they have expressed that their alright with it in the reviews. (Sorry about hoiw serious this got but I might as well nip this in the bud before it can start.)

See you next time...  
-Judgment


	18. Chapter 18

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

I hope this is a good reprsentation of an OC Special Ark. Remember, if you wan your OC to have one just let me know, I've already had a few readers tell me that they did.

I had a whole bunch to say to all you reader but i'skind of just gone now. Can't remember a damn thing that I migt have wanted to say. Grrrrrrrr! There is a chance that my reviews aren't coming through correctly at the moment, so if you really need to get a hold of me(ex: OC submition, Ark Ideas, Ark requests, ect) then just PM me and I'll get back to yeah that way.

fallen-wolfborn - I haven't forgotten about Shinju, I'm going toget him in during the Chunin Exams, and I'll be cameoing him in a few capters. I have not forgotten him.

GhostAngel69 - Same goes for you, I'll be getting you OC's in in a few chapters.

Med-Jai ferret - Thanks for the promission, I'll link them immidiatly.

Well, this chapter is a Sepcial Ark involving Hazama and Vain. There is also a few special things added in.

Enjoy...

* * *

"Hazama, remind me why we're walking up these stairs to the top of Hokage Mountain," Saya said in between breaths.

"Because," Hazama replied with a huff, "we're going on a picnic and the best spot for one is at the top of this mountain."

Saya looked up the mountain and said, "But why does it have to have so many steps?"

* * *

Minato looked up from the scroll he was reading and asked, "So, Maru Hyuga, you waned to ask me something?"

"Hai, Hokage. I was wondering about Team Lutii's Sensei. I've never seen him and I'm just, curious I guess as to were he is and was during that Wave mission."

Minato nodded and said, "That's understandable. Let me think really quick. Umm, I believe the injure that originally took him out of commission was worse then was first thought and he has been taken out of the Shinobi ranks."

"Then what of is team?"

"Right now they will be tossed around from Jonin to Jonin until a replacement is found. Vain said that he would take them but he already has a team and I can't allow that. He wasn't happy with me but understood, but then my wife wasn't happy with me that night and, well, a pissed off Vain isn't someone that I like to have around for long."

"How long ago was that?"

"About a week, maybe. Why the curiosity, may I ask?"

Maru looked at Minato hard and said, "Hokage, I would like to take Team Lutii as my own."

Minato studied him for a minute and asked, "Do you understand just what you're getting yourself into? You've been a Hunter-Nin, and a damn good one at that, for almost your entire Shinobi career and now you want to suddenly take a position that you will have for the rest of your life. Yes, being a Jonin-Sensei is a life long position because the Nin you train will always look up to you for guidance and teaching, you don't just drop them after they become Jonin. So I'm asking, are you sure?"

Maru answered without hesitation, "I've thought about this for a long time and I know what will happen If I do take this position but I will do it, I want to do it."

"Then as of this moment Team Lutii is no more and Team Maru is in action. Good luck... Jonin-Sensei."

* * *

"Finally!" Saya said in exhausted joy.

Hazama walked up beside her panting and said, "Tell me about it. Over there seems like a good spot."

It was a great day for a picnic as the sun shone brightly and the small amount of clouds made a beautiful sky. The grassy area they set down on had an edge of trees and an edge that looked over the city. It was truly quite the view. Hazama and Saya sat down on the blanket they brought and were soon indulging into the food that they had packed.

It was when they were done eating and laying on the grass, Saya had her head rested on Hazama's stomach, when she asked, "Hazama, you said back in Tokagokai that you and Vain had a mission together."

"I did, why you want to hear about it?"

She smiled at him as her answer and he began the story.

"Well, I had been called to the Hokage's office by a Chunin messenger. When I got there, well that was the first time I met Vain..."

(Flashback)

Hazama walked into the Hokage's office with trepidation. It wasn't that he was hesitant about going in, it was mostly that he had been busy thinking if he had done anything wrong in the past few days that might have made the Hokage anger. When he walked in he saw Minato Namikaze sitting behind his desk and another man was leaning against the wall to Minato's right. The man had brown hair, brown eyes, a black mask covering his face from the nose down, a black long sleeved shirt that was tight against his body but was clearly, the pants were black and while tight were were only tight enough so that the fabric on the legs didn't wisp against each other and make unneeded noise, his kunai pouch was modified so that it sat securely on the small of the man's back, his feet were fitted into black fabric sandals, and the last touch the guy had was his black fingerless gloved that had a silver threaded Leaf symbol on the back of them.

Hazama walked up to the desk and said, "You asked for me, Hokage."

"Yes, I'm sending you on a mission with Vain here," Minato said and the man gave a short wave. "The mission is to kill a business man's wife and before you say anything Vain, I accepted it because it was suspicious. I'm not going to beat around the bush here, things don't add up for this mission. The business man, a Koza Judoshi, paid for an S-rank mission to have his wife killed because she is stealing money from him. If it was just that then I wouldn't suspect anything but it was the restrictions he put on the mission that bugs me. The wife, Lutaki Judoshi, has to be killed in a way that it looks natural and none of his guards can be injured. Normally that wouldn't sound odd but the man let slip that his guards have, at the very lest, a small amount of Shinobi training. Even if they had only Academy training this type of mission, were the employer could easily buy a poison that made the death look natural, would be as simple as walking in and injecting her with it.

"There's also the last thing he requested. He said that he employs a Sensor. This means that If you two want any chance of getting close to the target you will have to have you chakra sealed for the mission."

"I don't like it but from what your telling us you want us to go about the mission as usual, but when we get to the wife?" Vain asked.

"I want you to bring her here without the business man knowing," Minato answered.

"Why, wouldn't that make Konoha look like they can't be trusted to finish missions?" Hazama questioned.

"If my hunch is wrong, then we'll say that she found out about his plan and paid us more money to save her, just like any Hidden Village would do," Minato answered.

"And if your hunch is right?" Hazama asked.

"Then you better be ready for a fight," Vain said as he walked by him. "You might want to get some clothing that is a little more suited for this kind of mission. Meet you at the gate in twenty."

Hazama watched Vain leave before he turned to Minato and asked, "Is he the leader or something?"

"No, but he left before I got to finish. This is a stealth mission, so go to the armory and switched out for it. You'll be travelling light and before I forget, Vain is a nice guy once you get to know him, just give him a chance."

Hazama hurried to the armory and when he left he was dressed in the same clothing as Vain was. He pulled slightly at the cloth, not used to the clingyness of it and rushed to the Main Gate. He made it there with three minutes to spare and saw Vain leaning against the gate waiting for him.

When Hazama was in hearing range Vain said, "It's about a two day trip from here since we don't have chakra. We'll get there at night. We'll talk then about going forward with the mission then or waiting a day."

"Sounds good to me," Hazama said and followed Vain as he jumped into the trees.

* * *

The trip was about as much as Hazama expected it, boring. His partner, Vain, talked less then the Uchiha did, well, most Uchiha. They had ran at a good pace and made it at the time that Vain had predicted. Now they were crouched in the trees that surrounded the four story mansion. They had been watching the guards patrol routes for the past three hours.

"How are you feeling?"

Hazama glance at Vain and said, "Fine, you want to do this now?"

"If it starts to look bad, we get out of there, got it?"

Hazama nodded.

When one of the guards that was walking next to the wall turned the corner two shadows dashed out of the trees. One turned and leaned their back against the wall and put their hands out. The other plated their foot into the other' hands and was thrown up to the top of the three story wall. The one left on the ground grabbed onto the rope that the other had been carrying and climbed up with the one on the wall holding the other end.

The shadows jumped to the ground on the other side of the wall and ran to the mansion, using bushes as cover when needed. They ran to a window and found it unlocked which allowed them to slip inside. They found themselves in a dinning room of sorts and looked at each other when they heard the door click.

* * *

Rob opened the door to the Dinning Room and looked around. He stepped in and walked around the large table that had a white sheet on it. He walked up to one of the windows and looked outside and then to the full moon that graced the sky. Turning he gave the room one more sweep of his eyes and then walked back out and closed the door.

* * *

Two minutes passed before a shadow dropped silently from the ceiling. Another one stepped out of a black shadow that was cast from a tall cabinet. They looked at each other and then at the door. They took positions of ether side of the door and one opened it slightly. A quick look and signaling to each other and they shot out of the door. They ran to the stairs and jumped. Planting their hands on the ceiling, they shot heir feet up and flung themselves up into the second floor. When they passed the railing on their upward journeys they reached out and grabbed them and pulled themselves around to land on their feet. They ran to an open door that was near them and crouched on both sides. They waited for thirty-seven seconds before a guard walked out of the door, he didn't even notice the two shadows slip into the door behind him.

The shadows got to a hallway that lead to another stair case but as one was about to start running down it the other put their arm out. The one that put their arm out pointed to the wall of the hallway and after carefully scratching some of the paint away a sealing array was shown. The shadow them pulled out a bag and, after a quick rip, threw the bag down the hall. The bag spewed its contents, a fine powder, and as it got farther the bag its self turned into the powder.

The shadow that throw the bag quickly signed, "The powder will reveal the chakra strings. Don't touch or they will cut through you. We have thirty seconds as of now, before the powder is dissolved into the air by the water vapor."

The other shadow looked down the hall and the back at the first shadow and gave the bird before running down the hall. The two shadows made no noise as they jumped, twisted, and ducked the visible chakra strings and when they got to the stairs they gave one last look back before heading up. Not a trace of the powder remained and it was as if only ghosts passed through the hall.

The third floor was left minimally guarded due to the Security Seals in the hall the floor below and the two shadows had no problem dancing around the occasional guard that would walk by on patrol. The next set of stairs led to a single room, which just happened to hold Koza's wife, Lutaki.

The shadows notice that the lights were on in the room due to he light that slipped out from under the door and they looked at each other in thought on what to do. After some deliberation and the relieving of two guard of their uniforms, the two shadows walk up to the door and opened it.

* * *

Lutaki sat on her bed and looked outside the window in thought. Her husband had told her that one of his guard found out the some Shinobi were going to try to kill her tonight but he reassured her that he wouldn't let them. She was left in this large room with only her personal guard, Marium. Marium sat on a chair next to the bed the Lutaki sat in, the first wouldn't sleep until the Shinobi were caught and the second was just too scared to.

Marium was about 17 years old and had long forest green hair. She had a lilith frame an was a true beauty with her teal eyes and developed figure. She stood at about 5'4".

Lutaki was 26 years old and had long black hair. Her frame was a fragile one, not like that of Marium, on which you could see her toned muscle. Lutaki had a little more developed figure then Marium but that was mostly do to age then anything. She stood at about 5'6".

"Don't looked so worried, Lutaki," Marium said, "I'm a Sensor so theirs no way a Shinobi is going to get in her without me knowing.

Lutaki smiled and said, "I just want this night to end. I feel safer when the sun is up."

When the door opened Marium jumped in front of Lutaki and they both looked to see who entered. The men that entered were wearing guard uniforms: Black boots, grey pants, grey long-sleeve jackets that buttoned up in a diagonal across the chest and stomach. The one on the left had black hair, grey eyes, and a scar that went over his right eyes that looked like tigers claws did it. The one of the right had brown hair, brown eyes, and a mask that covered his face from the nose down.

"It's just the guards," Lutaki said with a sigh of relief.

Marium didn't move from her spot but said, "Identify yourselves and what your doing here."

The one on the left said, "Name's Hazama."

"And I'm Vain," said the one on the right. "We're here because Sir Judoshi sent us to help protect Miss Judoshi."

Marium stared into Vain's eyes as if she was looking for a lie and said, "Sorry, we're a little on edge tonight.

"That's fine, under the circumstances, I would be too," Hazama said as he walk over to the window and lean on the framing so that he could easily look outside and inside the room.

Vain closed the door and then lean next to it. "I agree."

"I just don't understand when these Shinobi would want with me," Lutaki said heavily.

Vain made a quick glace at Hazama when Marium and Lutaki weren't looking and nodded his head. "Well, do you remember making anyone angry, someone with money or power perhaps?"

"No," Lutaki answered.

"How about your husband," Hazama asked, "could he have made someone mad enough that they would try to kill him and you?"

"I've only been married to Koza for five days," Lutaki answered in a depressed voice.

"Well, shit," Hazama said as he walked away from the window.

"What-" Marium said before Vain cut her off.

"We go with plan B then, Hazama."

Lutaki looked at the two and asked, "Who are you two, really?" She had fear in her voice.

Vain looked at her and said, "We were the Shinobi hired to kill you."

"I won't let you," Marium yelled as she leaped at Vain.

Vain caught her easily and after a quick motion had he hand painfully behind her back with her front smashed against him. She couldn't help but blush. "If you'll listen you'll find out that we're not here to kill Miss Lutaki."

"But you just-" Lutaki said before Hazama cut her off.

"We were hired to kill you, that's true but we were given a secondary mission to find out if you were truly guilty of the crime that the man that hired use said you were guilty of."

"Who hired you?" Lutaki asked, her voice trembling.

"Koza Jodushi," Vain answered.

Lutaki felt tears come to her eyes and a new fear come threw her. If her husband wanted her dead what could she do?

"Now don't you start crying, Lutaki," Hazama said.

"Why shouldn't I? It's not like I can get away from here. There are too many guards and I would only put Marium at risk if I left with her."

"You shouldn't cry because part of our secondary mission was to get you back to Konoha safely," Vain said as he release Marium.

"You mean-"

"Yeah," Hazama said with a large smile, "We're here to help."

"Why couldn't I sense you two?" Marium asked as she rubbed her wrist. She was facing away form Vain so that he couldn't see her blush.

"We have our chakra sealed, to bad the only way to get it unsealed is by the Hokage," Hazama answered.

"Hazama, I hear some one coming, can you take those two?" Vain said as he stepped away fort he door.

"Yeah, but what about you?"

"I'm willing to bet that the highest training one of these guys has is Chunin, even without my chakra I'll be fine," Vain answered.

"I can fight too," Marium said.

"You have to stay with Miss Lutaki. Hazama doesn't have his chakra and he will need the help defending a civilian."

A voice came from the door, "Miss Lutaki, can we come in?"

Hazama grabbed Lutaki and Marium and jumped out the window saying, "Time to go!" He pulled out a kunai and throw it to the ground. He braced himself and pulled Lutaki and Marium close to him and faced his back to he ground. When the explosive tag connected to the kunai went off the force pushed onto him with enough strength to slow him enough to land on the grassy ground without injury.

Vain shook his head and said, "I'll have to do that some day." He tuned his head when the door was kicked open and saw a few dozen guards walk in, "Well, at least this will be interesting."

* * *

Hazama rushed to the gate, now wasn't the time for stealth, now was the time to get the hell out of there. Lutaki held on for dear life as she was being carried piggyback style by Hazama. Marium was right next to her running along. Hazama skidded to a halt when he saw a group of guards standing in front of the gate. At the head of the was Koza, himself. Hazama passed Lutaki off to Marium saying, "Take her and get to Konoha as fast as you can."

"But what about you and Vain?" Marium asked as she hefted Lutaki onto her back.

"Forget about us, just concentrate on yourselves," Hazama said.

Lutaki couldn't help but let tear fall down her face as she said, "Thank you!"

Marium shot off toward the wall and when it looked like she was going to be cut off by the guards, Hazama blocked them off and gave Marium the time needed to run up the wall and jump into the trees. "I'm afraid you have me to deal with before you go after them."

The guards charged at him and Hazama could tell that they weren't even Genin level as he slaughtered them faster then they could come. It was soon clear that the guards weren't getting any were and Koza called them off. He didn't look scared though. He simply laughed as he looked at the bodies and he said, "Do you have any idea how much I would pay you to work for me?"

"Sorry, I hit my limit of annoying commanders back in Kiri," Hazama remarked.

Koza chuckled and said, "To bad, Wev, take care of him."

Wev stepped forward, when Hazama noticed the sword at his side he said, "You're a swordsman."

"Yes, I am. Tell me, do you practice the art?" Wev answered back as he drew his blade.

Hazama grinned and unsheathed his twin hook blades called Umiryuga, or Sea Dragon's Fangs. "I would say I do."

"Humph, I hope you give me a better fight then the last man I killed did," Wev said as he eyes Hazama's swords.

"Did you know, in swordsmanship, you have to be at least three times better then your opponent to have a one hundred percent chance of winning?" Hazama asked as he took up his stance.

"Well then, it should be obvious who is going to win then," Wev said before he bolted toward Hazama.

Hazama blocked the horizontal swing and casted it off to return with a downward slash.

The slash missed as Wev dodged to the side and yelled out, "Earth Style: Earth Spear!"

Hazama cursed as he jumped out of the way of the rising spear and swept his blade down to his right leg to knock Wev's attack off course. A kunai from one of the guards lodged its self into Hazama's thigh at that moment causing him to stumble as he stepped back from another of Wev's attack. While he didn't fall it did allow Wev enough of an opening to stab Him in the shoulder. The pain went down his whole arm and he dropped his blade as Wev pulled his out.

Hazama hissed because of the pain and forced himself to roll to dodge another oncoming kunai. He forced himself onto his legs and threw his sword into the air as he leaped back. With his hands free, Hazama pulled out several kunai with explosive tags on them and launched them at the guards. They didn't get time to run away because the tags exploded the second the kunai stuck into the ground. Smoke blow over the battle field and Hazama smiled as he blended into it.

Wev looked around but he couldn't see anything in the smoke and it burned his eyes to no end but if he couldn't see that that meant that his opponent couldn't ether. He laughed and said, "Stop hiding in the smoke Konoha Nin and fight me or are you to scared to do anything but put your tail between your legs and run away?" He stiffened and jumped away when he felt a sharp blade snake against his back. As he jumped out of the smoke he had to immediately roll to the side to avoid a kunai. He stood up and watched the smoke carefully and when he was sure that no more kunai would come he said, "Is that all you got?" He never felt the hook blade as it stabbed into the top of his head.

Hazama came out of the smoke and walked up to Wev's body. He turned around to look back at the smoke and he could clearly see the area were his hook blade fell into the smoke after his initial throw and where it came out after he threw it again, right after pressing his kunai against Wev's back. Gravity did the rest and sent the blade straight into Wev's head. He turned back to Wev's body and said, "Yeah, that's about it."

Hazama scanned the grounds and smiled evilly when he spotted Koza running away from the mansion. He pulled out a kunai and let it fly and his smile got more demented when he heard a wail of pain come in the same direction. He took his time getting to Koza and when he found him, Koza was dragging himself on the ground with a kunai in his right knee.

"Damn, that was a good throw," Hazama said.

Koza stopped and twisted toward Hazama. His eyes were wide in fear and he said, "I'll give you anything you want, just let me live."

Hazama walk over to him, leaned down, and said, "Give me money."

Koza nodded and said, "Yes."

"Give me this mansion."

"Yes."

"Give me all the women I could possibly want."

"Yes, all that and more if you don't kill me."

Hazama grinned, "Alright."

"Oh, thank Kami," Koza said in relief.

Hazama let out a bark of laughter and said, "Naw, I'm just screwing with you." He planted a kunai between Koza's eyes and walked away. He looked back at the body and said, "A man that would would have his own wife killed is no man at all."

He walked back to the mansion and saw a black figure jump from the top floor of the mansion. An exploding tag went off on the ground and when Hazama got closer he saw a bloodied Vain running toward him. Hazama yelled, "You stole my thing!"

"No time for that now, this place is about to be blown off the map," Vain said as he dashed by.

Hazama grunted and was soon keeping pace with Vain and he asked, "What do you mean, 'blown off the map?'"

"I mean, one of the guards I was fighting triggered some sort of self-destruct sealing array that encompasses the entire mansion."

"Well, damn."

(End Flashback)

"... The mansion exploded and Vain and I were barely out of the blast radius. That was easily the farthest I've flown ever."

"What happened to Lutaki and Marium?" Saya asked.

"They had seen the explosion and thought us dead. Told Minato that and everything. It was three days later and Minato was about to send out a search team. Imagine their surprise when Vain and I walked into their briefing." Hazama laughed before he continued, "We were put into the hospital and that's where Lutaki and Marium found us. They were both crying and happy that we were alive. As it turned out, Koza hired us to kill his wife so that he could kill us and say that Konoha killed his wife. It would have become a huge scandal and Koza would have become rich off of Konoha who would pay him to stay quiet."

"It must have been scary, to have had to fight with out your chakra."

"It was, actually, but not the scariest thing that could happen to me."

Saya rolled over and pulled herself onto Hazama so that she could look at him better and said, "Oh, if that's not the scariest thing you could think of, then what is?"

Hazama pulled something out of his pocket and when he opened it, it held a simple silver band. "The scariest thing I could imagine is not spending the rest of my life with you."

"Hazama..."

"Will you marry me, Saya?"

Saya stared at the ring and then at Hazama. She leaned her head forward, gave him quick kiss, and said, "Yes, I will."

* * *

"Your absolutely certain that she unlocked the Sharingan?"

The Chunin Uchiha bowed farther and said, "Yes, Kitara, the banished half-blood, unlocked her Sharingan during her last mission."

Fugaku wave for the Chunin to leave. When the Chunin was gone he said, "We can't allow the Sharingan outside of the clan, either we get her pack into the clan or we make sure she can never create a child."

"Now don't be too hasty," said an Uchiha Elder, "I have an idea of my own."

"What might that be?"

The Elder grinned and began to lay out his plan.

* * *

Yeah, one chapter closer to the Chunin exams. I'm really hyper and I just want to get there but I have like two more Sepcial Arks to do. Some Special Arks will be more then one chapter and some will be only one chapter, it all depends upon the lot of the Sepcial Ark.

Might have one out tomorrow. One more thing, my traffic recorder isn't working right now, so untill they fix it it looks like no one is chcking out my fics, *sad face.* Oh, well, if every reader reviews I'll feel the love...JK.

See you all next time...  
-Judgment


	19. Chapter 19

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

I had to shoove today, which wasn't so bad besides the 2 inches of compacted snow that I had to get up. I hurt everywhere. I was going to get this one out yesterday but I decided to be lazy.

Med-Jai ferret - You raise a good point about all those stab wounds and to tell you the truth, I just kinda thought of a number and that was the one that came up first. Hope you feel better!

I am getting reviews, I think. Grrrrrrr! My traffic still isn't fixed but oh well, their probably just busy or havn't gotten to my e-mail.

This Chapter has a new OC in it and, well, if you read the last chapter you'll know what this chapter will be about.

Enjoy...

* * *

Saya was a dream come true when it came to training Kitara's Sharingan. She knew just how far she could push before she had to back off and how fast she would have to go to make Kitara strain to keep up. The effort was worth it, however, because Kitara was now completely comfortable when switching to and from the Sharingan. Vain's philosophy on bloodlines passed down to his students and because of that, Kitara knew that her Sharingan was only ever a tool, not a crutch that made everything easier.

Maru had been completely astonished when he first saw and understood the capabilities that Ai's Sky Viewing Eye held. If she was place in the middle of the town and was able to expand her sight she would be able to give vital tactical information and form a plan without any use of scouts. Maru had a tough time testing the capabilities until he found the limit of her sight. From there he would poke in and out with Ai keeping his movements in her memory. His main goal was to make it so that she could at least talk while using her bloodline, making its value and effectiveness go skyward.

Through all this Ami wasn't left out to dry. Vain trained her alone and the work she had put into it was easily seen. It seemed that she had a growing affinity with wind which, although not impossible, was rare for a Genin. Vain had heard of Genin having more then one affinity but he would never had guessed that any of his students would. Her range of jutsu was ever increasing but the strange thing that Vain noticed was that every time she used a wind style jutsu he could feel the wind push against him and he was sure that he wasn't in the path of the jutsu or its draft. It was strange, to say the least.

It was a day off for the girls today and Vain was laying comfortably on the roof of his house letting the sunlight warm him. He opened his eyes when he heard the flapping of wings and there in the sky was a messenger bird. He sat up and let the bird land on his arm. Taking the message out of the pouch on the bird's leg, vain opened it and read:

_Vain, I hate to say, write, it but the Uchiha are pushing for an arranged marriage between one of their clansmen and Kitara. Since you're her legal guardian you have to get down here to represent her. I'll stall as long as I can. _

_Minato_

To say Vain was angry was an understatement as he shushined away, startling the bird that he had perched on his knee.

(Council Chambers)

"So, let me get this straight," Minato said as he rubbed his head, "you, Fugaku, want to arrange a marriage-"

"I demand a marriage. The Sharingan is of the Uchiha clan and I won't allow it to leave the clan," Fugaku said in a roar.

"Well, you can demand all you want," Minato said with steel in his eyes, "but if Vain Thanatos, her guardian, says no, then that's that."

At that moment the doors to the council room were kicked in and Vain walked in saying, "And that is exactly what my answer is, no." No one in civilian council said anything when Vain stood in the center of the room. It was obvious that he was angry and there was no telling what he would do if they opened their mouths. Danzo watched the proceedings in interest.

"The Sharingan is the Uchiha's," Fugaku said, "and only an Uchiha can show her how to use it. To do that she must be in the clan."

"Even if she was part of your clan you wouldn't do anything for her. I already have someone training her in the use of her Sharingan so you have nothing to offer her besides being nothing more then a breeding machine for the man you force onto her. Do you really think that I'll just stand aside and let that happen?" Vain said, the angry in his voice was almost palpable.

Fugaku smiled and said, "Under law, you can't refuse."

Vain looked at Minato and asked, "What law could he possibly use?"

"I have no idea," Minato said slowly as he eyed Fugaku.

"The law," Fugaku started, "is the Clan Restoration Act, or the CRA. Kitara has a bloodline and isn't part of any clan, so she must be married immediately and start having children. I volunteer an Uchiha male as her husband."

"You pig," Tsume Inuzuka spat from her set, "you would force a young girl into something like that?"

"Minato?" Vain said.

Minato nodded, "Yes, that is the law but it was never meant to be taken like that."

"I agree," said Shikaku, "that law was made for the person with the bloodline to have the option of using it or not, it was never made for the council to force onto others."

"Wait," Inoichi said and turned towards Shikaku, "you're not sleeping?"

Shikaku shrugged, "When it's something like this I can't just sit back and watch. I may be lazy but I'm not a monster."

"The only thing I've been hearing is that the law wasn't 'meant' to be taken like that but no one says that it can't," Fugaku said with a grin.

"Do you even understand what will happen if you win this argument?" asked Shibi.

"Mind explaining what you mean, Shibi?" asked Minato.

"Not at all. What I mean is that if we do force this girl into the CRA then we will lose many future Shinobi and some of our current Shinobi. What do I mean by this you might ask, well if we, the council, show that we have the power to force some one into the CRA then people will wonder what's stopping us from doing that to everyone who has a bloodline and doesn't have a clan or is the only one with the bloodline. Shinobi would leave before they would be forced into the CRA and many Shinobi wouldn't even come to Konoha, who would have other whys come."

"I see what you mean," Minato said as he rubbed his chin. "If that's the case then I'll have to stop this immediately. Fugaku, the CRA wasn't meant for that type of use, drop it."

Fugaku didn't look angry but did say, "Then I counter my previous banishment and accept Kitara back into the Uchiha clan."

"Who are you trying to fool, Fugaku?" asked Tsume. "You know that Kitara would have to accept the invitation back into your clan and it isn't a secret that she would say no. She's happy were she is right now."

"Thank you, Miss Inuzuka," Vain said with a bow.

Tsume stammered. When the Kamikanto had betrayed Konoha, she and the rest of the council, Shinobi and civilian alike, were calling for Vain's head on a platter. Most of the Shinobi council's hate change from hate to shame when they calmed down from the attack and from shame to admiration when they saw how Vain stood against all odds even at his young age. Their admiration turned to regret when Vain had first come to the Council Chambers and asked if they had finally gotten his death approved. It took a great amount of time and still even now it was easy to see that Vain didn't trust the Clan Heads but at least he didn't hate them. This was the first time he had actually said anything without them asking him something first and to say that they were stunned was an understatement.

"Yo-you're welcome," Tsume managed to say.

"She is an Uchiha, you can't keep her from her clan!" Fugaku yelled.

It was going to be a long council meeting

* * *

(At the same time)

Kitara stretched as she walked through Konoha, she had no idea that at this moment Vain was in the Council Chambers fighting for her. She, Ai, and Ami had been given the day off and she had used it well. She ate lunch with Team Kurenai, went shopping, went to the onsen, and all together had an easy day. Vain had been working them harder and because of that he had come to giving them periodic days off like this one. She was now walking by the Academy. She looked at it fondly and remembered all the days she had spent there and all the work she had put into graduating. She felt secure now that she was a Genin and that she had a Jonin-Sensei that she loved. She remembered staying up the night before the team selections because she was worried about who would be on her team and who would be her Jonin-Sensei. She couldn't be happier with the results.

Kitara heard a whistle and immediately jumped to the side. She had heard that sound enough from Vain-Sensei to know that it was a kunai thrown at high speeds. She wasn't surprised when a kunai stabbed into the ground of where she was once standing. Activating the Sharingan, Kitara took a quick glance to where the kunai came from and was shocked to see an Uchiha rushing her. It was only because of her Sharingan that she saw the three kunai coming and she pulled out one of her own. She blocked the three kunai but didn't have the speed necessary to block the swipe that came from the Uchiha and was nicked badly on the arm. She stepped back and managed to block a few more of the cuts but was kicked on the side of the head by the Uchiha.

Kitara controlled her roll and jumped up to a fence that was on the side of the Academy grounds and casted four kunai at her enemy. He blocked them easily and sent more flying her way. She could tell by his skill that he was at least a middle Chunin, maybe high, and she dodged the kunai to the best of her ability. She would have been trying to talk to the Uchiha and trying to stop the fight but Vain-Sensei had always taught her and her team to defend themselves first then ask questions, there were many ways to fight with out killing your opponent. She landed on the fence but let out a scream when one of the kunai stabbed through her calf. She hit the ground hard but managed to control some of the force into a roll and came up into a painful limp towards the Academy. If she could make it there that she would be alright.

Her heart sank when the Uchiha appeared in front of her and started to walk toward her slowly. She had faired well against him for a Genin, but that was all she was, a Genin, so while he had a cut or two, she was bleeding from many places and had bruises on the side of her face, arms, and legs.

"You can't run form me, half-blood," the Uchiha said with an evil smile on his face. "Did you really think that the Uchiha clan would let you just walk away with that Sharingan of yours?" He laughed. "No, I'll kill you before you can even think about giving that gift from Kami to someone that is unworthy to stand in the Uchiha's presence."

Kitara blocked the first stab from the Uchiha but the second was too fast and she watched in horror as the kunai neared her chest. She closed her eyes at the last moment and waited for the pain. It never came. She opened her eyes slowly and saw that the Uchiha's kunai was several inches away from her and that a hand was gripping the Uchiha's wrist, stopping it from moving. She looked at the man that saved her and saw a long black haired man whose dark blue eyes held a dangerous and angry look. He wore a a blue cloth vest that was opened just enough to see the man's muscular chest, he had a white cloth belt that, after wrapping several times around his waist, was tied and the length left was flowing down his right leg, his pants were simple blue cloth pants that went down to his mid-calves, he had blue cloth sandals, blue wrappings around his fore arms, and his hitae-ate was wrapped around his left thigh just opposite his kunai pouch which was on his right leg. Th odd thing about his dress was that Kitara could clearly see stitching of were ripes had been sown shut and many areas of wear and tare.

The Uchiha twisted his wisted and managed to get out of the man's grip and jumped back to get some distance from the man. He snarled and said, "This is Uchiha business, stay out of it beggar!"

The man stepped in front of Kitara and said angrily, "I'm not a beggar, you pompous Uchiha. My name is Shinju Mitsurugi and I believe that this is my business since your attacking a Konoha Kunoichi, which is treasonous."

"The only treason here is that you're in my way," roared the Uchiha as he charged Shinju.

Shinju took up a taijutsu stance that Kitara had never seen before. He had his legs staggered, his back was straight while his front was bent slightly. He had one of his hands behind his back, the other was looked lifeless as it hung at his side, and he faced his opponent head on. Kitara could say that she had no idea what this man had planned.

The Uchiha rushed forward and attacked the Shinju but right before the kunai could pierce the man he bent his front knee and let his weight take him to the side. He twisted his body just slightly which caused his loose arm swing swiftly right into the face of the Uchiha and sent him stumbling back. In a single step he was back into the original position.

The Uchiha stared at him and yelled, "What did you just do? You were there for one second and then you were gone. There's nothing that the Sharingan can't see, tell me what you did."

Shinju frowned and said, "Do you really think I'll tell you the secret of this taijutsu? You're a fool like the rest of your clan. If you must know I'll tell you this, it's called the Unseeable Dead Fist."

"I don't care what you call it! It was only a fluke, that's it," yelled the Uchiha.

"I went easy on you on that last attack but if you come again I won't hold back."

"You'll die with the half-blood!" the Uchiha screamed and charged.

Shinju held his ground just as before and the exact same thing happened as last time but this time he did give the Uchiha a chance to run. He just hit him with his loose arm and then planted his front leg. He pushed on it and launched an open palm attack to the underside of the Uchiha's chin causing him the fly into the air. When he hit the ground he was out cold.

"Shinju!" yelled a man that Kitara recognized well, it was Iruka-Sensei. Iruka ran right over to Shinju and asked, "What happened here?" When he saw Kitara he rushed to her side and asked, "Kitara, are you alright. No, of course you're not, look at you. Shinju, we have to get her to the hospital."

"Iruka, she was attacked by this Uchiha," Shinju said was he crouched down next to Kitara. "Mind telling us why, Kitara was it?"

Kitara shock her head and winced when she tweaked a cut. She said, "I don't know, he just attacked me."

"That Uchiha did say some thing about killing a 'half-blood.' I guess he meant you?"

"Yes," Kitara answered.

Shinju looked at the Uchiha and than to Iruka and said, "I'll take her to the Inuzuka compound, you take that traitor to the Hokage."

"But what about the hospital?" Iruka asked with worry in his eyes as he looked over Kitara.

"We don't know if there are and more Uchiha in on this, this is the only option," answered Shinju as he lifted Kitara gently. He watched her carefully and with every flinch she let out he adjusted his hold slightly until she nodded her okay.

"Will you be fine getting him to the Hokage?" Shinju asked.

"Yeah, I may drop him a few times for hurting one of my old students but I can manage," Iruka said with glint in his eyes that promised that he would drop the man more than a few times.

Shinju jumped off toward the Inuzuka compound. He looked at Kitara when he heard her say, "Thank you."

He asked, "For what, saving you back there? Don't thank me, I would have done the same for everyone and anyone. But if it makes you feel better, your welcome. That was an interesting taijutsu that you were employing back there, what's it called?"

"It's called Wolf Style but I had a few Dragon Style movements mixed in."

Shinju looked at her in surprise and said, "Wolf Style, that's a rare and powerful taijutsu, perfect for someone that is new to taijutsu and the Dragon Style, I've head that a master in it can never be beaten when the fighting in done in the air. Who taught you these styles, if you don't mind my asking?"

"My Jonin-Sensei taught myself and my teammates the two styles. His name is Vain and he is a big brother to me and my team as well as a Sensei."

"You love him dearly, I can see it in your eyes."

"He's always there for me and my sisters. I was banished form the Uchiha for being only half Uchiha blood, so I never really had a family but that all changed when Nii-san became my Sensei. I-I can go to sleep with out worrying that an assassin from the Uchiha will come and kill me, just because I'm not fully Uchiha."

"Have they attacked you before?"

"No, this is the first time."

Shinju went silent for a few seconds before saying, "You Sensei sounds like a good man, wouldn't mind meeting him one day."

Kitara giggled and then flinch in pain and said, "Nii-san will find and thank you, I'm sure of it." She paused for a second before saying, "I'm scared."

"Don't be scared, I'll protect you and so will the Inuzuka."

"No, I'm not scared for myself, I'm scared for the Uchiha and what Nii-san is going to do to them."

Shinju nodded and sped up slightly when he saw the Inuzuka compound come into sight. He didn't even bother with the gate as he jumped the wall and called at the first Inuzuka he saw, "Get Hana, this girl is injured. Lock down the compound, no one goes in and out."

An Inuzuka bolted into the main building, his dog close behind him. Shinju was escorted by four other Inuzuka, their dogs were sniffing and looking for anything or anyone that might harm Kitara. When Shinju placed her on a bed he was immediately pushed out of the way so that the Inuzuka with medical training could help her. Shinju didn't mind being shoved out of the way but he did stay in the room, just in case.

Hana burst into the room a few minutes later. When she saw that Kitara was being taken care of she walked over to Shinju and asked, "What happened, why did you call for a lock down?"

"Her name is Kitara. I interrupted an assassination attempt by an Uchiha," Shinju answered.

"Those traitorous pigs," Hana muttered. She turned to the Inuzuka that had gotten her and said in a commanding voice, "Continue the lock down until I or my mother say other whys."

"Sis, what's going on? Wait, Kitara, what happened?" asked Kiba who had just walked into the room.

"She was attacked, Kiba," Hana answered.

"What?"

"Calm down, she's safe here and getting taken care of," Shinju said while patting Kiba on the shoulder. He looked at Hana and said, "I have to go to the Hokage, Iruka should have the man that did this at his office by now."

"Go," Hana said without hesitation.

* * *

"For the last time, that law doesn't and will never apply to people who are banished by their clan," Minato said. It was easy to tell that he was at his limit of tolerance. Fugaku had been fighting for Kitara to be forced into an arranged marriage seven different times or that she be forced back into his clan three different times.

Minato shot his head to the door and yelled, "Would you people stop kicking in the door!" He looked to see who it was and saw Iruka Umino carrying an unconscious Uchiha over his shoulder. Minato almost laughed as he watched Iruka throw the Uchiha off his shoulder and onto the ground.

"What's the meaning of this?" Fugaku asked as he stared at the Uchiha on the ground.

"Iruka, do you mind explaining why you barged into the Council Chamber and threw an unconscious Uchiha onto the floor?" Minato asked, he had a feeling that the answered was going to make him angry.

"Shinju Mitsurugi, stopped this Uchiha as he was attacking a Genin by the name of Kitara."

Scratch that, it made him pissed. Two different killing intents tainted the air at that moment. One from him, Minato, the other from Vain. They were both directed toward one person, Fugaku Uchiha. Minato's face was unreadable beside the obvious anger and said, "Fugaku, do you mind explaining why an Uchiha just happened to attack the very same person that we have been discussing?"

Fugaku stared at the man on the ground for a second before saying, "I have no idea."

"This Uchiha will be interrogated immediately. ANBU take him to Ibiki." Two ANBU appeared and took the unconscious Uchiha. "If I find out that you order that attack, Fugaku, I'll personally show you how pathetic your Sharingan really is."

"Was that a threat?" Fugaku asked.

"No," Vain was the one that answered, "but this is. If I find out that you ordered the attack, that one of your Elders ordered it, or that you even hinted at it to anyone... I'll kill you and everyone that was involved."

"Do you have any idea just who you threatened?" Fugaku said as he stood up, he was glaring daggers at Vain.

"A dead man if you were the one responsible," returned Vain.

At that moment Shinju ran into the Council Chambers. He took a quick look around and said, "Looks like they already know."

"Shinju Mitsurugi," Minato called.

Shinju turned toward Minato and said, "Yes, Hokage."

"Tell me exactly what happened."

Shinju told him everything that happened and all it did was raise the killing intent that was in the air.

Tsume stood up and said, "I would like to go to my clan compound. If the Uchiha," she shot a glare at Fugaku, "do attack, I want to be there."

Minato nodded and said, "Go and take Vain with you. I can't have him killing Fugaku."

Tsume nodded and walked around the table and up to Vain. "Vain." He didn't respond. "Vain, lets go see Kitara." Vain shook his head and immediately the killing intent was gone.

"Will you gather Ai and Ami, please?" he asked.

Tsume nodded and slowly grabbed his arm an lead him out of the room. Shinju followed close behind and when they had finally exited the Hokage Tower he said, "You're her Sensei."

Vain looked at him and said, "She's my family."

Shinju nodded.

* * *

Kitara was looking outside the window when she heard the door open and was suddenly wrapped into a hug. She smiled and felt a tear come to her eyes. "Nii-san," was all she said before she broke down and started crying.

Tsume ushered the other Inuzuka out of the room and closed the door. She had to give that girl credit, she didn't even shed a tear that entire time and it was only until her Sensei did she finally break down. Assassinations were scary things, especially when they were attempted in a place that you're comfortable but she didn't worry about it. She knew that Vain would take good care of her.

It wasn't long before Ai and Ami arrived at the Inuzuka compound and were let into the room. She smiled and said, "They really are a family."

Hana and Shinju nodded.

* * *

Fugaku frowned, the assassination was a total failure. At least he and the Elders managed to advert being suspected any farther. When Ibiki interrogated the Uchiha that failed all he found out was that the man had a strong hate for the girl and that he had wanted to kill her for a very long time. The Hokage took that answer suspiciously but he took it non-the-less. It was amazing what a powerful genjutsu can make a man do and think.

His frowned deepened as he remembered how hard he had to fight to keep the council in session so that the assassination could take place with out fear of Vain Thanatos stopping it. He felt disgust wash over hm at the thought of having that half-blood filth in his clan. It would have gone perfectly if it wasn't for that beggar getting in the way but to create a taijutsu that the Sharingan couldn't track, was it possible? He would have to have his clansmen find out after the heat blew over.

Fugaku looked into the sky and stiffened when he felt a kunai touch his neck. He knew exactly who it was, "Kill me and everyone will see you for the traitor that you are."

Vain snickered softly and said, "I'm not gong to kill you."

"Then why are you here?"

"I'm here to show you just how easily I can get into you compound, a compound that is guarded by your Uchiha and their Sharingan, and kill you."

Fugaku grunted, he really couldn't say anything, the fact that he was here spoke the truth of it. Minutes passed before he said, "Minato will hear about this."

Vain let out a dry chuckle and said, "He knows I'm good but even he won't believe that I'm capable of getting in here without being seen."

"What now then?" he asked. He grew angry after a few minutes passed and he made a move. He grabbed the knife and twisted it around. He heard a cracking sound and when he looked he saw tat the kunai was tied to a wooden stick which was tied to one of the wooden polls that supported the roof of his outside walk way.

A guard ran around the corner and said, "Sir, I heard-"

"It's fine, get back to your position," Fugaku yelled out. He looked at the kunai in his hand and then to he starry sky and said, "We'll have to tread lightly next time."

* * *

I'm not sure when the next update will be, maybe tomorrow, maybe the day after that, all I know is that it should be soon because I've been thinking on this one since I first thought of the concept of OC Special Arks. I hope it makes for an interseting chapter.

See you all next time...  
-Judgment


	20. Chapter 20

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

This is the last OC Ark before the Chunin Exams, so that means that the next Chapter will be the start of the Exams. I'll begin more OC Arks after the Exams are done, that includes the monthe break and stuff.

Wow, I'm really tired right now. So college has offically started and I'm not sure how much it is going to effect how often I update.

I have an idea about another Fic that I'm going to start writing and I was just wondering if any of you readers would be interseted in reading it. The setting is this, Naruto is a seven year old kid, who was throughn out of the ophanage, is attacked regularly, ect. Well, one day he is going through an ally when he finds a baby and he is presented with an choice, let it die... or raise it. Well, does it sound like it has potental?

This Ark is focused on Mai and Vain, Hope you like it.

Enjoy...

* * *

Mai sighed as she opened the door to her home. She looked like her unemotional self on the outside but on the inside she was a whirlwinds of happiness, excitement, worry, and fear. Her Jonin-Sensei, Maru, had just told her and her team that he was giving them the choice of entering the Chunin Exams that were going to be done in Konoha this time. She was happy that he thought that highly of them, excited to have a chance to advance in rank, worried about her team, and scared that she or one of her teammates might die. She knew that death were somewhat common during these exams and that was the thing that scared her.

She knocked on her Father's office door, she wanted to tell him the news. She expected him to say something like, "Don't lose," or something like that. She loved her Dad but he never told her that he was proud of her, that he loved her, and that was hard on her. Even a simple good job would make her happy. When Mai didn't hear a reply she opened the door and looked inside. Her Dad was usually in his office at this time so it was strange that he wasn't here. She walked in and looked around, she wasn't allowed in the office much and after only a few second she decided to leave. She took a quick glance around as she walked to the door and noticed that the papers on her Dad's desk were ruffled. She had always known her father to be a neat man and it was strange to see an area were he spent much of his time in disarray. She walked over to the desk and looked at some of the papers on it.

She was confused when she found that every single one of them were the layers and designs of a sealing array. She had never heard or notice that her father had such an interest in seals. When she looked around for the name of the seal she dropped the papers she was holding. The title of the paper she had been holding was, Mai's Cursed Seal: Layer 2. Mai stood there in silence for what felt like an eternity but was truly only a few seconds before she dropped to her hands and knees looking through each of the papers that had fallen on the floor.

She felt a horror that she had never felt before enter into her as she found that every paper she looked at had her name on it and a diagram of a section of a cursed seal that was on her. She had a cursed seal and she didn't even know it. The next feeling to enter her was betrayal. Her father, and maybe even her mother, knew about this and they kept it form her. A part of her was telling her to think reasonably but her raging emotions destroyed it as she stood up and ran out of the office. She continued to run out of the house, out of her yard, and, very soon, out of Konoha.

* * *

(Three hours later)

Yusku and his wife Trisuka enter their house with caution. The front door was open and they, Mai included, always closed it when ever they entered and left the house. It took the duo ten minutes to go through the house before they got to the opened door of the office. Yusku entered slowly until he saw the papers on the ground. He dashed over to them and swore loudly.

"Who would come into our house to look at some of your papers, dear?" asked Trisuka.

"These aren't just any papers, their diagrams of Mai's cursed seal and I have no idea who... oh no."

"What?" she asked and walked over to her husband and looked at the papers that he had put back onto the desk. That was when she noticed the small dry water marks. The way they were on the paper looked almost like... some one had been crying over them. "Th-then she-"

"Yes, we have to find her. Kami, she must be so scared. Come on, we have to get help form the Hokage," Yusku said was he rushed out of the room.

* * *

Minato stood looking out of the window that over looked Konoha. He loved his village, even if the villagers did try his patience sometimes. He turned his head to the door when he heard the stamping of feet and wasn't surprised when his door was suddenly thrown open. The intruders didn't make it far before the ANBU had them surrounded but before he could even call the ANBU off the male yelled, "Mai's runaway."

Minato signaled the ANBU off of them and said, "You're Yusku Kamaya and that must be your wife, Trisuka Kayama. Mai's your daughter, wait, she ran away?"

Yusku nodded and said, "Please, the faster we start looking the faster we can find her."

Minato nodded and touched a seal that was on his desk. The seal began to glow. Minato turned away from the desk and said, "ANBU." In a flash four ANBU were kneeling in front of him. "Two of you go to the Inuzuka and tell them to send out tracker teams at once." He wrote something down quickly and said, "These are directions to Yusku Kamaya's home, give it to them and tell them that Mai, the daughter, has gone missing." The two ANBU disappeared. "Sparrow, find Kakashi and tell him the same thing. Turtle, go to the Hyuga and tell them to lead some of their clansmen or so help me Kami I'll go there and drag them out to help myself. After you go there go to Maru Hyuga's apartment, they can tell you where it is, he is her Jonin-Sensei and will want to know.." The last two disappeared and Minato finally turned to the two Kayama. "Now, please tell me I didn't do all that with out a reason."

Yusku explained everything to Minato, Mai's cursed seal and all his research to remove it, everything.

"Do you have any idea who put it on her?" Minato asked.

"No, it just appeared one day when she was a baby," Yusku answered.

Minato nodded and before he could ask another question a cloud of black smoke appeared and out of it Vain came.

Vain asked, "You only use that seal during emergencies, what happened?"

"It seems that Mai Kayama ran away from home after she found out she has a cursed seal on her," Minato said.

Vain didn't even wait for Minato to say anymore as he disappeared in black smoke.

Minato rubbed his head and said, "I hate it when he doesn't let me finish, but I guess the faster he gets out there the better."

"Why do you say that?" Yusku asked as he comforted his wife who had started to cry.

Minato turned his eyes to him and said, "Because if their is one person who will never give up on finding the girl, it's Vain."

* * *

Inuzuka and their dogs were running to and fro forming teams and heading out to the Kayama house. Tsume and her dog, Kuromaru, stepped out of the main building and she said, "We're joining the search."

Kuromaru stepped forward, "You are never one to just sit around and nether am I. Lets move."

Tsume pointed herself toward the Kayama residence and dashed in that direction. She looked to her right and saw Hana and the Three Haimaru Brothers at her side. To her left she saw Shinju, his face was set into a determined glare. She smiled, he wouldn't be able to smell but Shinju was another pair of eyes and that was always welcome.

The pace Tsume set got them to the Kayama home quickly and Tsume didn't waste any time before she was taking experimental sniffs of the air. It was only a few seconds before she said, "I have it, Hana?"

"Yeah, got it, but there's this other scent I can't place," Hana answered with uncertainty.

"Does it smell like rain and incense?" Tsume asked.

"Yeah, that's the one. Do you know who it is?"

Tsume let out a bark of laughter and said, "That's Vain Thanatos' scent. It seems he's aware of the situation and is already one step ahead of us." She took a glance at the sky, "Let's hurry, it looks like it might rain and if that happens there goes our scent trail." Tsume and Kuromaru lead the pack, while Shinju kept a watchful eyes out. Hana was right behind them and had the Haimaru Brothers spread out to the sides, just in case the trail curves and they don't notice.

Hana yelled up to Tsume, "Vain can track?"

"Yeah, some how he has as good a nose as us, Inuzuka. Hell, I'd wager that his is better," Tsume yelled back.

"But how?" Shinju asked.

"No one really knows, he's never told anyone," Tsume answered.

* * *

The rain had started coming down an hour ago but Mai didn't stop running. Her emotions were in turmoil and it hurt so badly. She couldn't think of anything that would stop the feelings of betrayal, fear, sorrow, hate, love, guilt for running away, and absolute confusion. These emotions swirled in her and it was something that she had never had to deal with before.

She slipped in some mud but was back up and running quickly. She had no idea how long she had been running and she truly didn't know why she was. What she didn't know was that her parents had kept something like the knowledge of a cursed seal away form her. She had always been told that the mark was the mark of her family and that every female got it. Her mother had even shown her the exact same mark that she had and now it was nothing but a lie. She didn't stop the tears that spilled form her eyes as she ran through the rain, trees, and mud.

Her cloths were torn from the branches of trees and bushes and she had scratched on her arms and face from those that hung too low. Her hair had mud, twigs, and leaves in it. She let out more tears when another wave of guilt washed over her and she pushed herself harder to run faster.

* * *

Vain ran at a speed that even he considered recluse but he had thrown all safety aside the second he had started this desperate chase. The rain made following Mai's trail difficult for even the most advance and experienced tracker but Vain spotted all the markers and all the signs that told him were she was going. He pushed off another tree with his hands and ran even faster.

There was truly no telling what Mai would do in her current state of mind and he had assumed the worst, that was what pushed him so hard. He flew across the ground and brought up a mental map of the area to try to figure out if she might be heading anywhere but the only thing in the area was... he ran even faster. The water drops beat painfully against his skin but he didn't mind it because it told him that he was moving, that he was getting closer to Mai.

* * *

Mai skidded to a halt and barely stopped herself from going over the edge of a massive cliff. She took a few steps back and looked down it and, while she couldn't see the bottom, she could see earth spikes jutting out from the walls. She looked back the way she came and then back to the cliff. She wanted the pain to end so desperately and no matter what it simply beat harder and harder in her heart. She clenched her chest and fell to her knees with a wail. She just wanted the pain to go away, the feeling in her heart that felt like it was being clench tightly by a hand.

She raised her head and looked at the cliff. There was one way that he could end her pain. She stood up quickly and moved closer to the ledge, it was slick with mud. She let out a whimper of despair and closed her eyes tightly. It would be simple right, just jump and the pain would go away. But what about her friends? What about Daisuke, Sora, Maru-Sensei, Kitara, Ami, Ai, Saya, Hazama, and the others. She had grown attached to them during the mission to Wave and she would hate to upset them. The guilt only grew from that line of thought and the pain in her heart increased, she let out a chocked sob.

Her legs trembled and her feet only move inches at a time as she moved close to the edge. She took one last ragged breath... and jumped. She had her eyes closed but she cold feel the rush of the wind as she plummeted toward the bottom of the cliff. The pain would be over soon and she would never have to feel something like it again.

She let out a gasp when she felt a strong arm grab her from around the belly and felt a quick jerk before she heard a metallic snap and the falling continued. This time it became a control fall that brought her and the one holding her to the wall. She heard the sound of a knife or dagger leaving a sheath and after an initial pull, she and the man slowed swiftly to a stop. Mai just hanged there for a few seconds before she looked at the person who saved her and said in a trembling whisper, "Vain."

* * *

Vain sighed in relief, he had finally caught up to Mai but that sigh was caught in his throat when he saw her jump off the edge of the cliff. Thinking fast, Vain pulled out some ninja wire, strung it to a kunai, and threw it so that it was wrap around a near by tree as he jumped off the cliff. He straightened his body and rocketed toward Mai and when he got close enough he wrapped his left arm around her. He felt a quick jerk and clenched his teeth as the metal wire tore into his right arm from the force of the stop.

He cursed mentally when he felt the wire snap and began falling again. It took him a few seconds to correct his fall and curved his body so that he would move toward the cliff face. Pulling out his right dagger, he stabbed it into the cliff wall and held tight as it cut through the face until it finally came to a stop. He held tight to Mai and looked down when he head her say, "Vain."

"You're safe now, Mai. Don't worry," Vain said gently.

Mai hung loosely in Vain's arm and said quietly, "Just let me die. Please, let me die."

"Why?"

Mai felt fresh tears flow down her face and she said, "It's so hard." She hiccupped. "I always act like I'm in perfect control of everything but I'm not and I can't act any differently because everyone expects me to be perfect. The perfect Kunoichi."

"I don't," Vain said. Mai looked at him with wide eyes. "You're team and Sensei don't. Where did you get such a thought?"

Mai looked down and asked softly, "What am I?"

"You're a proud Kunoichi of Konoha," Vain answered in a stern voice. He softened his voice and finished, "and you're a 13 year old girl with a lot on your shoulders."

A silence passed and Vain held Mai tighter every time he felt her shiver. Vain broke the silence by saying, "You're a strong girl, Mai."

"Look at me," Mai yelled back, tears still streaming down her face, "I'm pathetic. I lost control so easily."

"Is that what this is about, control? Was finding out about the cursed seal what finally broke the gate you held you emotions with?"

"You-you know a-about the-"

"Yes, and don't you dare think that I think of you any differently then before."

"Vain..."

"I can't hang here forever; do you want to continue this at the top of this cliff?" Vain asked gently.

Mai nodded and grabbed onto his arm. She held on tight when he move and worked his arm behind him so that she could grab onto his back. She held onto him so hard that her knuckles were white, her arms were around his neck and hands clenching his shirt, and she laid her forehead against his back.

Vain pulled out his left dagger and drove it into the rock a tad higher then his other dagger and then pulled the other out and did the same thing. It was slow going and Vain decided to pass some of the time by talking softly to Mai. He told her stories about his past missions, friends come and friends lost, interesting places in Konoha, and anything else that would come to his mind. One thing he told her was about the cliff that they were in. It was apparently so smooth that no one could stick to it with their chakra. It was a strange thing that many Shinobi researchers were trying to make use of by smoothing the walls that surround Konoha the same way. It was to little success.

Another thing he told her was about his past. When he was younger, he never told her how old he was, he had once tried killing himself. He told her that it felt like the world was against him and that it looked like the only way out was to end it. He was saved by his private doctor, Shiba, and she had asked him why he would do such a thing. He told her his reasons and she had replied, "When it looks like all things are against us and that the only way out is to end it, we should always keep fighting because it is only by quitting do you truly admit defeat. Think about the future, Vain, and imagine all of the people you can help, all the people you can inspire, all of the people you can save and live for them. If nothing else, will you live for me?"

It was what Shiba had said to him that changed everything he thought he knew and became the man that he was now. Sometimes it's only through tragedy and pain that you can learn your most important lessons.

Two hours passed before Vain pulled himself and Mai up and out of the crevice. He could tell by looking at her that she was emotionally and physically drained and so he picked her up bridal style and started the long walk back to the village. It was during this time that Mai told Vain about her parents high expectations, their not telling her about her cursed seal, and anything that she could think of that she just wanted off her chest. Vain listened to everything she said and counseled her in a few of the things and promised her that he would do all he could to remove the cursed seal she had. She had smiled and thanked him at that before she rested her head against his shoulder and was soon asleep.

* * *

(Morning)

"We lost their tracks about two hours outside of Konoha an had to turn back and hour after that," Tsume reported to Minato, who was sitting in his office.

Yusku and Trisuka were sitting on the couch looking worried and filled with self blame. If they had just told her gently then this might not have happened. Maru was leaning against the wall to the left of Minato, he had been out until only an hour ago looking for Mai. His only hope at finding her now rested with Vain.

"Hiashi," Minato said, "where did your clansmen search?"

Hiashi mapped out an area around Konoha and said, "This area was thoroughly searched but we lost all traces in the same area as the Inuzuka, I'm afraid."

"This is just great, Vain, you had better walk through this Kami damned door right now and get rid of my headache!" Minato yelled while pointing to the door.

At that moment the door opened to show a mud covered Vain carrying a sleeping and equally mud covered Mai. Minato looked at his finger and then back at the door and said, "Damn, I'm good."

"Mai!" Yusku and Trisuka cried at once and rushed over to Vain. They stopped at once when a wave of killing intent swept through the room, it originated from Vain.

Vain looked at the two coldly before addressing Minato, "I'm taking her to the hospital," he turned to Mai's parents, "and we're going to have a talk after she is situated. Understand?"

Mai's parents nodded and Vain disappeared in a black cloud. Maru soon followed in a swirls of smoke and leaves. Minato looked at Yusku and Trisuka and said, "I haven't seen him that mad since that Uchiha tried to kill Kitara. My advise to you it to sit down and shut up when he starts talking."

* * *

Minato's advise came in handy because the second Yusku and Trisuka entered Mai's room Vain had them by the proverbial throat. He told them about the presser Mai was under by them and their expectations and that they couldn't expect her to always act like Kunoichi. She was a girl and she should get the chance to act like one. He also proverbially crucified them about not telling her about her cursed seal and that, while he could understand their want to protect her, she was going to find out eventually and it would have been better if they had told her.

Maru was quiet through it all but he sat next to Mai the entire time. It wasn't long before Sora and Daisuke came running into the room and Vain forced Yusku and Trisuka out of the room so hat he could finish with out the Genin hearing. When Vain finally finished with Mai's parents did he allow them to go to Mai's room. He took a quick look in to see that his girls were now in her room as well. He nodded to himself and started to walk down the hall. He heard some one call for him but he evaporated in a cloud of black smoke.

A woman whose long red hair flowed down to the small of her back sighed and stepped into Mai's room.

* * *

Vain appeared just on the boundary of the eastern tree line and started to walk into the forest.

* * *

Mai woke up slowly to the gentle probing of a red haired woman. The woman looked at her and smiled a kind smile and said, "I'm sorry that I woke you. I was just checking to see if the nurses might have missed anything."

"Who are you?" Mai asked quietly, it was easy to tell she was tired from just listening to her voice.

"My name is Shiba Igumi."

"You're Vain's private doctor, aren't you."

Shiba laughed lightly into her hand and said, "He must have told you that. Yes, I am."

"Then why are you here?"

"You're full of questions. I'm here because I heard that Vain brought someone into the hospital and I wanted to make sure the nurses did their jobs right. I also wanted to catch Vain but his hate for hospitals made him leave quickly."

"He hates hospitals?"

Shiba's smile took on a sad edge and she said, "He has good reason too. Now, I'm going to go so that you can see your visitors."

"Is-is Vain out there?"

"He isn't but I'm sure you'll see him the next time you wake up," Shiba said as she walked out of the room and let everyone that was waiting in. It was a long time before Mai got to go back to sleep because of all the talking that occurred after that. Her parents apologized and she smiled and told them that she understood why they did it. Daisuke made everyone laugh with his antics and Sora, Kitara, Ami, and Ai talked about resent articles in the Kunoichi Magazine. Maru sat in a chair next to her bed with a tired smile on his face. It wasn't long before Saya came running into the room dragging Hazama by the arm. Zabuza and Haku followed at a more sedated pace. Nakamura and Hitomi came in with their baby, Takeshi. Tylin came flying into the room from a kick by Xander and Kin and Kaishen came in behind the destruction. Mai smiled softly through it all and her last thought before she drifted off to sleep was that she really did have a lot of people that cared for her, people that she would have to live for in the future.

* * *

Vain stopped walking when he heard a sound echo through out the dark clearing that he had entered. The sun showed that it was mid-afternoon and Vain figured that he had finally gone far enough. He wasn't disappointed when he felt a sharp blade press against his throat and looked down to see a silver katana. "That's a nice hello, Forest Guardian of Konoha. You can come out, Forest Angel of Konoha, I know you're there."

"Can't blame us for trying," said a women who jumped out of a near by tree. She had blond hair and brown eyes. Her developed body was perfect for seduction. She wore a tight black shirt and a white vest over it which she left open, her pants were tight Shinobi pants that had been cut off at quarter thigh, she had her kunai pouch strapped to her right thigh, her hitae-ate hung loosely around her neck, and her black sandals had a white strap that went over the toes.

"It's been a while, Angel," Vain said and then turned to the man who was currently putting his katana away. He had dark blue hair and brown eyes. He wore a long sleeved white shirt, he had the sleeves rolled up part ways, over that he had a dark blue vest with no sleeves, he had dark blue Shinobi pants that went down to his black sandals, on his back was a sheath for the katana, he had his kunai pouch on his right thigh, and his hitae-ate was tied tightly to his left bicep. "I have a question for you, Ghost."

"I don't get a hello?" Ghost asked with a smile.

"Sorry, but this is important. Have you ever heard a way to get rid of a cursed seal?"

Ghost got a look on his face that should that he was thinking and a few seconds later he said, "Not that I've heard no. Cursed seals are tricky things, Vain. Can't help you on this one."

"Then I guess I have to go to the one place I didn't want to go," Vain said with a sigh.

Angel raised an eyebrow, "Where's that?"

"My old clan's scroll room."

* * *

Mai opened her eyes slowly and looked around. It was night, she could tell from the soft moon light that came in form the window. The only people left in the room were her parents, Sora, Daisuke, and Maru. She didn't mind that the others left, it's not like there was space to sleep anyway. She saw that her parents were sleeping on a futon that was set on the floor to the left of her bed. To the right was another that Sora slept on. Daisuke, it looked like, had been sleeping on the edge of the futon but had sprawled off. She saw Maru sleeping in a chair that sat in the corner by the window.

"He spent the entire night out looking for you." Mai looked into the shadows next to Maru and watched as Vain stepped out of them. "Staying up two days isn't rare for Maru but with the added emotional stress, I'm sure he's exhausted."

"You're here," Mai whispered.

"I always will be. Now, go back to sleep, Mai, and wake up to a new day."

* * *

Again the Chunin Exams start next chapter and I'm not sure if I'll be able to do updates as quick as I have been doing them.

I enjoy writing Fics too much :D

See you next time...  
-Judgment


End file.
